Survivor: Maldives
by Lower Your Expectations
Summary: 39 Days, 18 People, 1 Survivor! The show that's nearly spanned two decades finds itself with a new host and a new cast of 18 strangers as they embark on a life changing journey on a deserted island off the coast of Maldives. Who has what it takes to win the 1 million grand prize and the title of Sole Survivor? (Updates every other month)
1. There's No Way I'm Going First

Various shots of Maldives are shown. From bustling shots of people walking this way and that in a busy intersection of the King's Island, to large resorts with vacationers lounging, the country looks extravagant and beautiful.

"Maldives. One of the smallest countries in the continent of Asia. With a population less than half a million, the country is known for its lavish getaways and retreats."

The camera then cuts to a large expanse of water, before zooming in on an old ship. On it are various sailors, rushing around and performing tasks, keeping the ship at bay. Sitting and standing at the front deck are eighteen Americans, a majority of whom look very out of place and uncomfortable. At the very center of the ship is a man in a tuxedo who continues the monologue.

"These eighteen castaways will get to experience none of that."

The camera then cuts to multiple shots of swarming insects around animal carcasses, raging winds and water pouring down and ripping through palm trees, and sharks swimming through the ocean.

The eighteen continue to look around, some fascinated by the expanse of ocean around them, some focused more on the crew of the ship, and some giving judging glances towards their competitors.

"I'm Matthew Daniels, and this is Survivor: Maldives. For the next 39 days, these eighteen contestants will have to endure the less cozy side of the country, on two of the many uninhabited islands of the region. A lack of food, water, and shelter will be mixed in with a plethora of mental stress, physical exhaustion, and the environment around them. An even greater challenge, though, will be having to deal with the strangers around them."

The man moves as some of the crew start lowering the mast, and walks over to the anchor.

"The group will be divided into two tribes, who will battle for rewards and immunity in many challenges. The tribe that loses immunity is sent to tribal council, where they then must vote out one of their own. This will continue until the tribes merge, and tribal challenges will turn to individual challenges. At the end, two will face a jury of their peers who they voted off, and one will be crowned the title of sole survivor and a million dollar grand prize."

The man at the wheel starts bellowing orders, and the crew scatter in an even greater rush to get the ship stopping.

"These people come from different walks of life, but they must learn to overcome their differences in order to come together and adapt to the tropical wilderness. Who has what it takes to go all the way and win? Over the next month, we'll find out. 39 days. 18 people. One Survivor."

* * *

Theme Song Interlude

* * *

The anchor falls as people continue to scurry about. As the ship slows to a stop, a few of the contestants give their intakes on their ride in.

 _Lucas (Lawyer): "I haven't been on a boat before. I'm from Nebraska, where I'm from the closest thing we got to the ocean is a water tower, and you can bet I never took a dip in there."_

Lucas is looking down at the small waves splashing up against the bottom of the ship, his hands gripping the rails for dear life.

 _Lucas (Lawyer): I know I was supposed to learn how to swim before I got here. I just sort of... forgot... often... about actually going over to a pool to, you know, learn."_

As Lucas takes deep breaths in attempt to calm himself down, an elderly man is sitting cross legged watching the crew mull about. He is dressed almost as fancy as the host, sporting a tan three piece suit. A jarring addition to the ensemble was the skeleton mask adorning his face.

 _Quincy (History Professor): Hello, my name is Quincy Paramount Darrencrest III, but due to my physique and lack of mass, a few of my colleagues at the college I teach at resorted to calling me "Bones" when I began teaching there. I detested the nickname at first, but thirty years of hearing students use it as a term of endearment sort of makes it grow on a person. I even got this spiffy mask as a gift to take as my luxury item. I must say, between this or a fresher change of clothes, I'm glad I decided on this. No regrets here, no sir."_

As a crewman scaled down from the crow's nest, a young woman in the crowd watched in impressed awe.

 _Isabella (Student Teacher): This is incredible. Seeing all of these sailors running around, doing all of this crazy stuff like heaving on some giant tarp or climbing up a fifty foot pole, I felt like running in and joining them, they were making it look like a blast."_

Others were less impressed, such as the woman currently losing her lunch over the side of the railing.

 _Terri (Grocery Store Manager): I was sort of hoping sea sickness wouldn't be as bad as they make it look on TV shows. And it isn't. It's honestly worse. I hope I can provide a cautionary tale for the folks at home watching. Avoid boats. Avoid the water. Man was given feet, not flippers._

Eventually the ship stopped, and as the commotion died down, Matthew started walking towards the eighteen passengers.

"Welcome to Survivor, ladies and gents."

The reaction was mix of polite clapping from some and vigorous applause and shouting from others.

"For the next month, you will be marooned with nothing but the clothes on your back, as well as a machete, a pot, and what little the production team has decided to give to you. You'll have a well with fairly fresh water, and a compass and map to find it."

A very fit young woman in the crowd looks ecstatic.

 _Sofia (Park Ranger): "I can't wait to get this started. I've always enjoyed adventuring. For my 25th birthday, my girlfriend and I climbed Mt. Everest, and last year we went on a tour of the Great Barrier Reef. We both applied for this game, and she gave me the biggest damn hug when I told her I got nominated to be on. I'm incredibly thrilled to be here."_

Matthew continued. "You won't have to face these problems alone. You'll have eight other people starting out with you, and together you'll be in charge of making a shelter to protect you from the elements and a fire to help cook food and boil water. Would you like to see who will be on what tribe?"

"Hell yeah!" shouted a short woman in the middle, with laughter and murmurs of agreement following.

"Alright. There are two canoes tied to a net that's cascading down on either side of the ship. Once the teams have been made, I'll toss you your map and buffs, which you'll wear at all times, and have you set off towards the beach." Matthew pointed off the bow of the ship towards the large island. The players could barely make out two bundles of supplies and two flags, one grey and one brown. "You'll take your supplies and follow the map to your new homes. Let's get this process started."

Matthew pointed over to the port side of the ship. "On the Pedang tribe which will always wear grey, is Otis."

An older gentleman with thinning grey hair walked over to grey mat, placed on the left side of the deck. He was a 58 year old Caucasian postal worker.

"Katrina."

The short woman who had shouted jogged over to the mat. Otis outstretched his hand to greet her, but instead she gave him a hug. He smiled and returned it. She was a 29 year old Korean-American marathon runner and artist.

"Marcus."

A large, muscular man made his way from behind the crowd, towering over everyone. As he got to the mat, he immediately received a hug from Katrina, which looked rather awkward as her head barely came up to his shoulders. He still returned the hug with a large grin, and kept it as he shook Otis's hand. He was a 31 year old African-American construction worker.

"Terri."

The large middle age woman left her misery at the railing for a second to go walk over to her new tribe. Otis and Marcus both looked a bit concerned, and offered pats on the back as well as handshakes. Katrina once again gave a hug, though this time a bit more gently. She kept an arm around her new teammate for the rest of the process. Her name was Terri she was a 42 year old Caucasian grocery store manager.

"Ahmed."

A slightly bigger balding man made his way over to the mat, shaking hands with everyone and receiving a hug from Katrina. He rubbed his black beard as he glanced through his teammates. He was a 43 year old Arabian-American bank teller.

 _Ahmed (Bank Teller, Pedang tribe): "I'm from Chicago, Illinois. I work at a bank. This isn't my first time on a boat, but what I'm doing on one so far away from home I couldn't tell you. My children told me to apply, and I did it more to humor them than to actually get on television. I'm not confident in my chances of winning, but I do hope to at least enjoy my time out here and do my children proud."_

"Sofia."

The young woman walked briskly over to the mat, exchanging handshakes and hugs. She was a 27 year old Mexican-American park ranger.

"Julio."

A lean, shorter man walked up, chuckling as he immediately received a hug from Katrina and Terri, and a handshake from everyone else. He was a 45 year old Spanish-American newspaper editor.

"Harper."

A taller woman with long blonde hair underneath a cowboy hat walked up, giving everyone on the mat a bear hug. She was a 22 year old Caucasian farm hand and rancher.

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang Tribe): "I'm from down south, I'm a rancher in Texas. I've herded cattle, I've been in rodeos, I've been driving a tractor since I first learned how tah use my legs. I'm a worker. I aint afraid to get down and dirty. Hell, this'll probably feel more like a vacation more'n anythin'."_

"And rounding out Pedang, Tim."

A stick thin young man slowly made his way up, his eyes scanning the people on the mat as he shook hands. He was a 23 year old Caucasian cartoonist.

 _Tim (Cartoonist, Pedang Tribe): "I'm stoked to be here, I've been watching the show since I was a kid. I'd be even more excited but... well, I'll go ahead and say it, we don't have a lot of winners on this tribe. We've got the lady who was blowing chunks, we've got most of the people over the age of 40, and we have the smallest guy out here, i.e. me. I'm a Survivor super fan, I know a losing tribe when I see one."_

Matthew gestured to the brown mat on the right side of the ship.

"That means the other nine of you will be members of Lembing." They all walked over to the brown mat, exchanging handshakes and introductions.

"Victoria."

The youngest cast member flashed a cheeky grin to the people on the Pedang mat. She was a 21 year old Japanese-American student.

"Quincy."

The oldest cast member briefly took off his mask to stick his tongue out at his competition. He was a 61 year old Caucasian history professor.

"Jean."

The middle age woman was in the process of introducing herself to a fellow castaway, and ignored as the host kept going through the names. She was a 41 year old African-American nurse.

 _Jean (Nurse, Lembing Tribe): "I'm a registered nurse from Oregon. I have four children at home, but thankfully my husband is looking after them. I think I'm mentally prepared for this game, and I think I'm more than capable to go toe to toe with some of the people on the other tribe. I want this experience to not only be a rewarding one for me, but also something my kids can look to and be able to say 'That's our mom on TV.' I'm just here to make them proud, I guess."_

"Lucas."

Lucas meanwhile was the farthest away from the edge of the ship, and his eyes would occasionally dart to the net they would soon climb down. He was a 34 year old Caucasian lawyer.

"Amber."

A rather petite young woman perked up at her name being called, but then readjusted her wide glasses and resumed in talking with her new tribe. She was 22 year old Arabian-American mechanic.

"Donny."

The second tallest man on the boat grinned as he stood almost a head over everyone on his tribe. He was a 33 year old Native-American firefighter.

 _Donny (Firefighter, Lembing tribe): "I can guarantee I'm the only person here from North Dakota. I can guarantee I'm the only person here who could even point out where North Dakota is on the map, let alone where Devil's Lake is. I think that may work as an advantage to me. People have stereotypes of people from Mississippi or Texas or California or New York, but the only people who ever trash talk North Dakota are South Dakotans, and those people suck."_

"Delilah."

The woman wearing a thin jacket and running shorts was busy having a conversation with Donny and a rather short man with spiky hair and a gold necklace. She was a 28 year old African-American pharmacist.

"Nathan."

Nathan turned around to acknowledge the host before continuing his chat with Donny and Delilah. He was a 23 year old Chinese-American model.

"And rounding out Lembing, Isabella."

The large girl cupped her hands to her mouth and gave a great shout. "WOOT WOOT! WINNING TRIBE!" This was echoed by both Bones and Victoria, who had been talking with her. She was a 22 year old Puerto Rican-American student teacher.

"Alright, with that, our two tribes have formed. Pedang, here are your buffs and map."

Matthew chucked the supplies to the tribe, and the buffs were distributed.

"Lembing, yours as well."

Lembing also adorned their new accessories.

"Alright, have fun heading out to your new adventure."

Matthew went to walk back to the wheel of the ship, but stopped short and turned around to the contestants, who were just about to start going overboard.

"Oh, and one more thing. First person to lay their hands on it gets an extra bag of rice for their tribe. Little incentive to get moving."

As Matthew left, the two teams immediately started scurrying off the sides of the boat. For Pedang, Sofia, Katrina, Marcus, and Harper all opted to jump rather than climb down the net. Ahmed and Julio quickly scaled down as the four hoisted themselves into the canoe. Otis and Tim were both sluggishly making their way down the net, and Terri was having trouble getting over the railing.

 _Terri (Grocery Store Manager, Pedang Tribe: I just felt dizzy and nauseous and already fairly exhausted. We just started our first little sort-of-challenge, and already I'm lagging behind. Thankfully I don't think standing on those damn rickety ships will be an essential part of any upcoming actual challenges, but for right now, I feel like I'm not making the best first impression._

For Lembing, Isabella, Nathan, Victoria, Donny, and Amber all jumped overboard. As the five all swam up to the canoe, Delilah was the first to descend the net and make it in, Jean following right behind. Meanwhile, Quincy was preparing to jump the railing, when he turned around to see Lucas still inching his way towards the side of the boat.

"You there, Lucas, right? You may want to hurry, it looks like everyone else is already off."

Lucas looked over at the other tribe to see Terri had managed to get over the railing and was climbing down the Pedang net.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Lucas said, his voice shaking a bit despite his attempts to hide his fear.

"Well, move your legs boy. I don't want to have half portions come lunch time just because you felt like meandering on the boat." Quincy chided as he dived off the railing. Lucas trudged forward with great effort to the side of the ship. He looked down and grimaced.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing Tribe): "It should've been easy, I should've just scaled down that sucker like it was no problem. But instead, I froze."_

As Quincy pulled himself onto the canoe, Nathan shoved an oar at him.

"Alright, that's everyone, right?"

Quincy looked up. "Well if we feel like making our spiffy looking blonde friend swim to shore, then feel free to start paddling."

Nathan followed Quincy's gaze to see Lucas hesitating to bring his leg over the rail.

"C'mon dude, we gotta go!" Nathan yelled.

"Looks like the other tribe is pulling ahead." Delilah said, pointing past the front of the boat. Pedang had all nine of their tribe in the canoe, and were paddling rather slowly. "We still have a shot."

"You got this, bro! Hurry up!" Nathan yelled, hoping some words of encouragement might help.

"Do you need any help?" Donny yelled. Lucas shook his head and got both his legs over the railing, but was still having trouble letting go of it to climb down.

Meanwhile, on the Pedang canoe, Julio was guiding his tribe, trying to get everyone to row in sync. It was easier said than done, however.

"Guys, with my voice. Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!"

A majority of the tribe kept in rhythm with Julio, but there were three noticeable stragglers. Terri wasn't paddling quickly enough, still looking a bit winded. Otis kept finding himself either a bit before or a bit after everyone else, and kept accidently bumping oars with Marcus. Tim, sitting in the back, was hardly paddling at all, and instead was using his time to look over his tribe, and then look back at the other one.

 _Tim (Cartoonist, Pedang Tribe): While everyone else was paddling, I wanted to take some extra time to really assess my tribe. We've got a few jocks, like Marcus, who is like three of me, and then there's Sofia and Harper, who are some kind of Amazons or something. Julio and Ahmed are both a bit older, but they bot look relatively fit, at least compared to me. The only people I see myself being more of an asset than in challenges are Terri and Otis, and maybe Katrina._

Tim gave a glance back at the other tribe and chuckled. "Guys, they haven't even started rowing yet."

"Are they tangled up or something?" Harper asked.

"One of them looks like they're caught on the net." Tim answered cheekily. "I bet they're loving him right now."

"Dude, we'll come up there and yank you down." Nathan asked. The rest of the tribe was either getting their oars ready or watching Pedang further the lead. Lucas was about halfway down the net.

"I'm good, I'm almost there." Lucas called down. He took a deep breath and climbed down to the canoe. As soon as his foot touched the canoe, his hands slipped and he fell with a great lack of grace into the water.

"Sh(censored)t! Help me in! I can't swim!" Lucas screamed. Donny immediately jumped out of the water to help keep Lucas afloat, while Quincy and Victoria reached out to try to help pull him on board.

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing Tribe): So some of the more colorful characters on my tribe include an old man in a tuxedo wearing a skull mask..._

Quincy found himself yanking Lucas onto the canoe by the hem of his pants.

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing Tribe): ... A guy who looks like a reject from a 90's boy band..._

Nathan meanwhile was getting his oar into position, staring right ahead at the other tribe.

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing Tribe): ... and a guy who signed up to stay on a deserted island without learning how to swim._

Lucas is finally on board, gasping and clutching his chest.

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing Tribe): This is my team... (Victoria sits in silence for a bit before sighing.) Yeah, ok, why not?_

As Donny quickly pulled himself in, the tribe started rowing to the direction of Isabella, who used her booming voice to great effect.

"STROKE! STROKE! STROKE!"

Lembing was finally mobile, and were moving quickly. The entire tribe was able to match pace, and they seemed to be going almost double the speed of Pedang. Pedang, meanwhile, was still going at a fairly sluggish pace, not helped by the fact that a third of the tribe wasn't rowing. Terri was taking a minute to try and calm her stomach, Otis was giving his muscles a chance to relax, and Tim was more or less relaxing, keeping his paddle outstretched in case anyone would turn over to see him. However, the woman right in front of him seemed to notice a lack of movement out of the corner of her eye.

 _Tim (Cartoonist, Pedang Tribe): I wanted to try and conserve energy, just in case there was some kind of advantage hidden on the beach. I could be wrong, but Matthew did say first person to make it on gets an extra bag of rice for their tribe. Why make it only one person has to get there to win something for the whole tribe? There's gotta be something more to it. So when the canoe got close enough, I wanted to be able to jump off and swim up ahead of the thing._

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang Tribe): I don't know what sting bean's problem was, but he didn't seem to be paddling half the time. I dunno if he was tired already, I mean that oar looked about as big as him, maybe that had something to do with it? Like, at least with Terri n' Otis it looked like they were tryin', but Tim was just sittin' there like a bump on a log._

As Pedang was a good 50 yards from the shore, Terri took one more deep breath before resuming paddling, but it did little to stop the Lembing tribe from catching up to them. Watching them come up from out of nowhere put renewed vigor into castaways on both tribes, and even got Tim and Otis to start paddling. However, the added effort on Pedang wasn't able to match up to the unified effort of Lembing as they passed Pedang. Lembing quickly made the home stretch to the shoreline, where they found Matthew waiting by a large bag of rice sitting on a pedestal. Nathan and Lucas both jumped out of the canoe and rushed towards the bag of rice. Nathan got to it first, but stopped and let Lucas catch up. They both put a hand on it and raised it up in victory.

"Lembing, comes from behind to get the extra bag of rice!" Matthew announced. Pedang made their way to the shore as the Lembing tribe huddled around their new prize, all of them congratulating each other and celebrating. Nathan and Isabella both detached from the group to give handshakes to the other tribe. They were accepted by everyone, except for Tim who was busy surveying the beach for anything out of the ordinary. The two tribes eventually gathered up while Matthew gave them parting words.

"Alright Lembing. Nice win on the rice. Both tribes will now follow their maps to their respective camp sites. You'll have the rest of the day to get your camp situated to your liking, and I'll see you tomorrow for your first reward challenge. Have fun." With that, the two tribes collected their things and walked in opposite directions.

* * *

 _Pedang Tribe -Day 1-_

Sofia repositioned the tribe flag on her shoulder as she walked with the rest of the group. She offered to carry it and the tribe pot. Marcus and Harper were carrying the canoe on their shoulders, Ahmed had the machete, Julio had a bag of a rice, and Tim had a bag of beans. Despite everyone's spirits being a bit damped by losing out on the extra food, Sofia was determined to try to keep a positive outlook.

 _Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang Tribe): A loss right at the start of the game isn't good for morale, and we're gonna need to get some of that energy we had on the boat back if we're going to want to get a productive first day._

Sofia shielded her eyes from the sun as she peered up ahead. The map showed their campsite would be on the beach, with a very large leaning palm tree as an identifying landmark.

 _Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang Tribe): As soon as we get to camp, I want to get everyone together in a group. We're going to need to be unified if we're going to get anything done._

As the tribe kept moving, Katrina noticed that Terri seemed to be walking away from everyone else, closer inland. She walked over to the older woman and put a hand around her.

"Feelin any better?" She asked.

Terri smiled at the gesture. "Yeah, not near so nauseous now that I'm on solid ground, thanks."

Katrina gave a large grin. "Glad to hear it. Was that your first time on a boat?"

"Yeah, and if I have anything to say about it, it'll hopefully be my last time." Terri grimaced, glancing back out at the ocean.

Katrina smirked. "What, you mean after all the fun you just had, you're not eager to try again? How about me and you take the canoe out right away, we can get some fish to fill up that hole in your stomach."

Terri couldn't help but like the plucky young lady's attitude.

Meanwhile, Otis was hanging around the middle of the group, looking ahead.

 _Otis (Postal worker, Pedang Tribe): I had offered to carry something, anything, over to the camp, but everyone else already had it covered. I felt like I should've been doing something, I really dropped the ball during that first little challenge. Once we get to camp, I'll make it up there and really get some work done._

After what seemed like an hour of walking, Sofia finally spotted what looked like the landmark.

"Guys, I think we got our beach!" She yelled.

* * *

 _Lembing -Day 1-_

As Pedang was arriving at their beach, Lembing had already gotten to theirs. The tribe had come together for a quick meeting to try to get the day's schedule straightened out.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing Tribe): Before I got on Survivor, I was the owner of a small law firm. One of the best ways to get a productive group together is to have a leader that gets right down to business._

"Alright," Lucas said, trying to get everyone's attention, "let's decide right now what we want to make a priority. We've got no clean water right now, we've got no shelter, and we've got about another... five or so hours before we run out of daylight. What should we do?"

"I think fire should be a top priority, we're gonna need some water fast, and I'd like to be able to cook up some of our extra rice." Donny said, smiling as he gestured to the two large bags of rice and bag of beans that sat by the flag.

Victoria frowned. "In most seasons I've seen, they usually hand out flint after the first reward challenge. Maybe we could focus on the shelter tonight, and then try and win the flint tomorrow. Saves on wasting effort on trying to start a fire with sticks."

Quincy raised his hand. "If it pleases the court, I'd like to interject." A few odd looks were given to the man who was still wearing a skull mask. "You say it'd be a waste of effort trying to start a fire with sticks. Well, I've started fires with less, so how's about you give me about an hour and I'll see if I can't get a bonfire blazing. How does that sound."

Nobody responded immediately, but eventually Nathan let out a chuckle. "Sounds good, man. If you need any help, you can give one of us a call. I'm up for whatever."

Lucas rubbed the back of his head, the meeting not really going where he'd imagined it. "Alright, how about this. Raise your hand if you want to work on the shelter."

Victoria, Isabella, Donny, Delilah, Jean, and Amber all raised their hands. Lucas also put up his hand after a bit.

"Alright, sounds good. So Nathan, you can go help, uh... I'm sorry, what's your name again?" Lucas found it difficult to take his elder tribe mate seriously while he still wore the mask.

"Quincy, but you can just call me Bones, it's what my colleagues refer to me as." Quincy answered.

Lucas resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Alright, go try and get a fire started."

'Bones' gave the thumbs up. Nathan couldn't help but smile at the sight.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing Tribe): I friggin love this guy. I was so worried everyone was gonna be all serious and only want to work and stuff, but we got a geezer wearing a skull on his head and he's tallkin about how he'll get us fire, and he's got this fancy way of talkin._

Bones and Nathan walked off to go collect firewood. Bones called over to Nathan as they entered the expanse of trees. "Remember, only the finest mahogany!" Nathan cracked up at the order.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing Tribe): I had no idea cartoon characters were real, but we've got one in our camp, and his name Bones._

The two ventured off inland, collected an assortment of twigs and logs, and brought them back to the beach, ten feet away from where the other seven were building a shelter frame. As Nathan plopped down his latest load of wood, Bones walked up to him holding a coconut and the machete.

"Nathan, I'm going to need to ask a favor of you. I've got this coconut, but I don't exactly trust myself with a machete to try and open it. Would you do the honors?"

"Uh, sure thing man. You thirstin for some coconut milk, or...?"

"Hm? Oh, no, this one is probably all dried out. But it has some coir fiber inside that'll be essential in the fire-making process."

Nathan smiled and nodded, taking both items from the old man. He set the coconut on the ground and gave it a few good whacks. After peeling the inside out, Bones took plenty of coir from inside and moved it to a large bundle of twigs. Nathan walked over to watch Bones work.

"How exactly you plannin' on starting this thing?"

Bones didn't say anything, but just tapped a finger on his head, which was still adorned with the flimsy mask. Nathan didn't know whether or not to take the response seriously, but smiled nonetheless.

"Would you mind running the machete back to the others, young man?" Bones asked.

"Sure thing, buddy." Nathan said, grabbing the tool.

...

After getting the machete back, Donny and Lucas returned to the other five, who had gotten a nice area cleared.

"What were those guys doing with the machete?" Delilah asked.

"I guess the old man got hungry, Nathan said it was for a coconut." Donny laughed.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing Tribe): I was worried I would stand out after nearly causing us the loss at the challenge today, but it's hard to be too noticeable when you've got a 60 year old skeleton proclaiming he's gonna give us fire and the using the tribe's machete to get himself a single coconut. At this rate, I don't think I've got much to be worried about being an easy first boot._

"Should one of us go over to see if he needs any more help?" Isabella asked.

"Nah, leave him. Isabella, go check to see what Nathan is doing. I think he dropped off the machete and then just went off into the jungle." Lucas said.

Isabella nodded, and left to go look for Nathan. She searched around a bit, heading further and further inland, until she eventually heard a rattling noise from above. As she looked up, she saw a shape falling towards her which she barely managed to dodge. She looked down to see it was a small fruit. She looked back up to see Nathan standing on a thick branch, plucking more fruit from the top of the tree.

"Hey Nathan!" Isabella hollered up at him.

The young model looked down. "Oh hey, what's up Isabella?"

"Not much, just was wondering what you were doing. Having fun up there?" Isabella couldn't help but feel impressed. She doubted she could scale the tree, let alone balance on a branch, but Nathan looked fairly comfortable up there.

"Tons of fun. Found a bunch of mangos, was planning on bringing back a few for the tribe. Wanna help me carry some?"

"Sure thing, just be careful up there. Don't want you falling face first." Isabella cautioned.

"I hope not, my face is my money maker." Nathan yelled back. He then plucked a few more mangos and let them drop before deciding to scale back down. As he was climbing, he felt one of his hands start to slip. Before he could readjust, his feet also gave way and he fell about ten feet. Isabella ran over to try and help him up.

"You alright, buddy?" She asked, looking him over.

"Yeah. I didn't squash any mangos, did I?" Nathan replied with a dopey smile. As he got up, he winced as he put pressure on his left leg and fell back down.

"Easy there, pretty boy, you went and hurt yourself. Here, I'll help you up."

Isabella pulled Nathan onto his feet, and put one of his arms around her.

 _Isabella (Student Teacher, Lembing Tribe): Nathan isn't the brightest guy in the world, but he's far from the most boring. I think me and him are gonna get along just fine, so long as he doesn't go and hurt himself again._

Nathan tried putting some weight on his leg, and found it a bit uncomfortable, but not unbearable.

"Alright, I think I'm good. Let's start gathering up these suckers."

As Nathan and Isabella were busy picking things up, very little progress was being made at the shelter.

"I think we're going to need the roof to be at an angle. That way rain isn't just piling up and spilling through the top." Amber said, trying to explain her design for the shelter.

"I think we're going to need more of a horizontal roof. If we go more diagonal, what's to stop it from sliding off if the wind picks up from the North?" Lucas asked, pointing towards the setting sun.

"First off, that's West. Secondly, If we build a sturdy enough frame, we won't have to worry about that." Amber said.

"I don't know about that." Lucas said. He was about to elaborate more, but then his eyes drifted to Isabella and Nathan, who had just gotten back to camp.

"Where have you guys been?" Lucas asked. He mentally reprimanded himself for sounding too strict.

"We got some snacks for everyone," Nathan answered, unrolling his shirt and letting several mangos fall out. Isabella did the same. Lucas looked surprised to see all the food.

"Oh. Good job. Did you guys remember where you found them? We could probably assign someone to go get them tomorrow."

Nathan made a face. "Assign someone to fruit duty? Really?"

"What's wrong with that?" Lucas asked, his brows furrowing.

"You're making it into a chore. It doesn't have to be an assigned thing, or a daily thing. If anyone wants some mangos, I'll just go get them some mangos, or I can show them where to get some mangos. It doesn't need to be a job." Nathan said, sounding a bit irritated.

Lucas put his hands up. "I'm not trying to make a job out of it, I'm just saying it would be good to get a routine going of someone collecting food so we have a good amount of food laying around, that's all."

Nathan huffed. "Alright dude, all I'm saying is you're starting to get kinda bossy."

Lucas glared at him. "How am I being bossy? All I said-"

Isabella got between the two. "Hey, hey, let's all calm down a bit. Let's everyone just take a breather."

Both Nathan and Lucas relaxed a bit. That's when Lucas noticed Nathan was standing a bit awkwardly.

"Is your leg ok?" He asked. Nathan rubbed it a bit.

"Yeah, just a bit sore. Fell out of a tree gettin' the fruit." Nathan replied nonchalantly.

Lucas looked dumbfounded. "Are you sure you're ok, man? Do we need medic to look at it or anything?"

"Whoa, whoa, easy bro, I'm alright. I'm fine." Nathan said.

"You have to be more careful from now on, Nate." Lucas chided. "If you end up hurting yourself, that's really going to hurt us in challenges."

Nathan sighed. "Well it's not exactly like I fell on purpose."

Lucas shook his head. "Oh don't give me that immature crap. Take this seriously!"

At this point, the camp more or less stopped working as they listened to the two bicker. Jean, who had been gathering leaves and palm fronds for the roof, rubbed her forehead.

 _Jean (Nurse, Lembing Tribe): I'm not sure how, but Lucas managed to find a way to get angry at Nathan for going and finding us food. If this is his reaction to someone giving him fruit, I amlost hope we don't win any more rewards, he might just explode._

The two eventually ended the argument and went back to work. There was a fair bit of tension that hung in the air for a while afterwards, but it was ignored once everyone started doing different tasks.

 _Donny (Firefighter, Lembing Tribe): I like Lucas, I think he's a good enough guy. I think he's used to being in charge, though, and it certainly comes off that way when he speaks. If he doesn't learn that we're his teammates and not his employees, he might find himself in trouble real quick._

* * *

 _Pedang -Night 1-_

The night was calm on Pedang beach, with very little wind and no clouds in the sky. The tribe lay sleeping in the shelter, except for one castaway. Katrina carefully got out of the packed shelter and wandered down towards the beach, sitting down in the sand and gazing up at the stars.

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang Tribe): Our first day got so much better once we got to camp. Julio got everyone's attention and he started directing people to do specific tasks. Marcus and Harper went off to go cut some trees down, Sofia and Julio were in charge of getting the fram and measurements right, Otis and Terri and I were in charge of weaving palm fronds and getting leaves for the roof, and Julio and Ahmed were working on the fire, but they sorta gave up on that and instead went to go collect food. I think that was supposed to be Tim's job, but he was just out roaming around for most of the day. Come to think of it, I don't think he brought back a single coconut or anything._

Tim had come back rather late, and was laying at the end of the completed shelter. He was having trouble sleeping while he reflected on the day's events.

 _Tim (Cartoonist, Pedang Tribe): I looked everywhere on this stinkin island for a hidden immunity idol. I checked every tree, every bush, turned over every rock, and I've got nothing to show for it. On top of that, I'm still bitter from earlier today. Not from the little mini-challenge, I'm more or less pissed off at the tribe I was given. The two people who are the closest in age to me are a butch Mexican woman and a brawny farmer. Believe me when i say I'm not looking forward to any conversations with them. But I'm going to need to talk with someone, because I need to get an alliance formed._

For all of his complaining, Tim was still impressed by the shelter the tribe had managed to make on the first day. Not only was it sturdy, but it was well covered. Marcus and Harper had gotten an excess amount of wood and bamboo, so Sofia had the idea to build two diagonal walls on the left and right side of the lean-to, giving more protection from and rain or wind.

Tim eventually went to sleep, and soon Katrina got back from her star gazing to find a place to snuggle in with her tribe.

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang Tribe): I think the two people who haven't really done much talking are Otis and Tim. Otis has sort of been keeping to himself lately, but he's at least been working. Tim... well, I'm sure he's doing something and I'm just not seeing it._

* * *

 _Lembing -Day 2-_

Delilah woke up with a groan. She was about to start her day with some back pain and a headache.

 _Delilah (Pharmacist, Lembing Tribe): We managed to get a floor and the start of a roof made yesterday, but then Amber and Lucas started arguing about how the frame should be built, and then Isabella and Nathan went off to go explore the island without telling anyone. They came back with some mangos and Nathan came back with a bit of a limp, I guess he fell out of a tree or something. Lucas ended up scolding him, and while I don't like the way he handled it, I agree with what he was trying to say. An injury is the last thing we need. We need to keep the tribe strong, and we already got Bones not bringing much to the table. Speaking of, Bones didn't help a damn bit with the shelter. I almost didn't want to let him sleep on it last night._

As Delilah got up out of the shelter, she looked to see who else was still asleep. Donny and Lucas were sprawled out at the far end, Victoria, Amber, and Jean all cozily cramped in the middle, and Nathan and Isabella both sleeping with their legs dangling out of the elevated floor. As she had suspected, Bones was back at his little pile of sticks.

Delilah walked out to the trees to go find some coconuts. As she walked, she noticed a funny looking statue on the ground sitting next to a decaying log. On top of the statue was a piece of wood with a note stapled on it, labeled "Tree Mail". She read the message written on it and then took it off and headed back to camp.

"Rise and shine everybody, we've got a challenge to go win." Delilah announced as she strolled in to camp. Everyone in the shelter awoke groggily and Bones got up from his pile of wood. Delilah stood in front of everyone, and then read aloud the contents of the piece of wood.

"To win your first challenge, it's ammo you need, careen yourself towards it, to stay in the lead. Have a good arm, get ready to throw, winners get fire, a loser must go."

"One loser must go?" Donny asked. "I thought this was just a reward challenge."

"Eh, who knows. Either way, let's get another win under our belts." Amber said. The tribe muttered agreement as they made an attempt to fully wake up.

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing Tribe): Our tribes been having some problems from the get-go, but I think another win might be just the boost we need to start getting some positivity around here!_

* * *

 _Reward Challenge -Day 2-_

Matthew was standing on an empty beach as the two tribes came in from different directions. He waited until both tribes were on their mats before beginning.

"Who's ready to start the first challenge of the season?" Matthew asked, getting a few cheers for a reply. However, one castaway responded with their own question.

"If this is the first challenge, what the hell was that thing yesterday?" Lucas asked.

"That was just the standard Survivor welcome." Matthew answered with a shrug. "Before we get to the first _real_ challenge, let's see what you're playing for."

Matthew pulled out a block of flint from his pocket.

"You'll be playing for fire, in the form of flint. Fire is certainly a necessity out here. On top of that, the winning tribe will also receive another reward, but we'll discuss that after the challenge." Matthew then went on to explain the challenge.

"On my go, five players will use a small raft to paddle out into the ocean to retrieve four bundles of coconuts. Once you have all five, you'll paddle back to give them to the other four who will be waiting at a throwing station. Each of the four tribemates not on the raft will be responsible for knocking down one of four statues that are sitting on pedestals 10, 15, 20, and 25 feet out. First tribe to knock down all statues with their coconuts wins reward. Sound good?"

The contestants nodded.

"I'll give you guys some time to plan who'll be doing what, and then we'll begin."

After some time went by, both tribes had a game plan set.

"Alright, for Pedang it's Katrina, Tim, Otis, Julio, and Terri on the raft, Marcus, Ahmed, Sofia, and Harper throwing. For Lembing, it's Quincy, Amber, Delilah, Isabella, and Donny paddling, Victoria, Jean, Lucas, and Nathan throwing. Survivors ready? Go!"

Both rafts set out and started paddling, Lembing quickly pulling ahead. Under the guidance of Isabella, the five paddled in unison and made it to the first bundle of coconuts with relative ease. Pedang was struggling a bit, but was still managing to go in the right direction. As Pedang neared their first bundle, Lembing was already retrieving their second.

"Lembing in the lead by a bundle. Get those back as soon as you can, every second counts." Matthew said.

Pedang got to their second bundle in a bit quicker time, getting more used to the way the raft moved, but so were Lembing, as their tribe retrieved their third bundle and was on their way to the fourth. Pedang put even more effort in, and they managed to close the gap a little bit, picking up their third before Lembing could get their fourth. Lembing snatched the fourth bundle first, and started paddling back, though Pedang wasn't too far behind. Both tribes soon found themselves going back to shore.

Lembing arrived first, Delilah and Donny each picking up two bundles and carrying them over to the throwing station. Up first for Lembing was Victoria. She took a deep breath, and chucked her first coconut with great force. It smoked the statue on the 10 foot pedestal and knocked it off.

"Lembing with the first statue down. Pedang just getting back to the beach. You still have time, Pedang!" Matthew encouraged.

Julio, Katrina, Terri, and Otis each rushed a bundle to the station. Ahmed took the first coconut and shucked it at the closest statue, but missed. As he went to try again, Jean was taking aim with her first coconut. She lobbed it at the fifteen foot statue, and hit the podium it was standing on. The statue wobbled, but didn't fall.

Ahmed threw again, and this time connected, knocking the statue off of the pedestal. Just as Sofia was getting ready to throw her first coconut, Jean threw once more and this time hit her statue. It grazed the top, but it had enough force behind it to get the statue to tilt and fall off.

"Lembing leads 2 to 1." Matthew announced.

Lucas got up to throw for Lembing. He took aim and tossed, missing quite a ways to the right and a bit short. Sofia took a breath and then threw. Hers was a bit to the left. The two threw a few more coconuts each before Sofia finally connected with hers, a solid hit to the middle that knocked the statue off. Harper was up next. She took a coconut and hurled it without hesitation. The coconut found it's target and sent it flying off of the 20 foot podium.

"In no time at all, Pedang went from trailing by one to leading by one. They only need to knock down one more statue."

Lucas started panicking, throwing coconuts at a faster frequency and with much less impressive results. Nathan stood impatiently for his turn while Marcus went up to throw for the last Pedang statue. He gave a good toss, which ended up a bit to the right. Both men went to throw one more coconut. One of them connected, and that statue fell.

"PEDANG, WINS REWARD!" Matthew yelled.

The Pedang tribe cheered, rushing to the throwing station for a big group hug. As the Pedang tribe celebrated, the Lembing tribe walked up to the throwing station, giving condolences to the their throwers. Nathan then walked over to the Pedang tribe.

"Good job, guys." He said, shaking hands with Harper and Marcus. As Nathan walked back to his tribe, Lucas and Victoria were both giving him funny looks.

As the tribes settled, Matthew walked over and handed Marcus the flint.

"In addition to the flint, I'll now tell you what else you've won." Matthew pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket, handing it to Harper. She took it and read it out loud.

"As winners of the reward challenge, it is now your duty to send someone from the losing tribe to exile island. They will stay there until the immunity challenge tomorrow."

The Lembing tribe looked shocked and disheartened. Pedang, meanwhile, looked thrilled.

"Pedang," Matthew said, "make your selection."

The tribe got together to whisper before seeming to come to a consensus.

"We've decided on Lucas." Julio declared.

The color seemed to drain from Lucas's face as Donny put his arm around him and Victoria gave him a pat on the back.

"Lucas, you will be sent to exile island immediately. As the note said, you'll be back in time for the immunity challenge. Come with me, we'll have the boat pick you up."

Lucas gave a few hugs to come of his tribe mates and then followed Matthew. Lembing looked absolutely heartbroken... except for Nathan, who shrugged it off. The tribes split off and went back to their respective camps.

 _Nathan (Model, Pedang Tribe): I got nothing personal against the guy, but he's been goin around, ordering everyone to this and that ever since we got to camp. Besides that, dude has been on my case lately, and I think it'll do everyone some good to relax a little bit when we go back to camp. Also, he's kinda the reason we lost today, so again, not too sorry to see him go._

* * *

 _Exile Island -Day 2-_

Lucas stepped off of the boat and stood on a small patch of sand. He looked over in dismay his new home for the next day. Exile Island was not so much an island, but many small spots of sand surrounded by waste deep water. All in all there were about six dry spots, the largest of which was about 10x10 feet, and the smallest was about big enough for his feet to stand on without touching water, and that's if the waves were calm.

"You've gotta be kidding me? There's not even a tree or anything? This just seems like flat out torture." Lucas moaned. He then noticed a treasure chest out on the biggest island. He waded into the water and made his way towards it. Once he arrived to the chest, he saw a note taped on top of it. He plucked it off to read it.

"Protection or provisions? Comfort or control? Inside this chest sits the hidden immunity idol. The hidden immunity idol is a powerful tool that, when used at a tribal council, can stop anyone from voting for you. However, you will need to find the key to the chest to open it, and it is buried somewhere in one of the other islets. There is a clue to its location scrawled on the bottom of the chest."

Lucas ran his hand through his hair, a grin forming on his face, and he continued reading.

"However, if you wish to not seek out the idol, you will be given food and shelter during your stay at exile. You will, however, be forbidden from stepping foot on any of the other islets. Make your decision for which path you'd like to take by either flipping over the chest, or leaving it stand. A boat will come by shortly to see your decision."

Lucas sat down while he contemplated his decision.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing Tribe): On the one hand, if I go looking for the idol, I will be starving by the time I get back, and I'll also most likely be exhausted. I'll suck at the challenge, and I'm sure that won't go over well with everyone, seeing as I'm the reason we lost the reward challenge and almost lost the extra bag of rice. That being said, I already know I'm making enemies on my tribe. An immunity idol would be the only guarantee for my safety at our first tribal council._

Lucas placed his hand on the top of the chest.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing Tribe): The most important factor in my decision is this: Do I think I'm the lowest on the tribe totem pole? And the answer to that question seems simple to me._

Lucas took his hand off of the chest and waited for the boat to come see his choice.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing Tribe): I'm on a tribe with a crazy old lunatic who hasn't done anything around camp. There's no way I'm going first._

* * *

 _Lembing -Day 2-_

The eight Lembing tribe members walked somberly back to camp. Many looked down at the ground, moping at the loss. Jean and Victoria went over to the shelter to lay down, both tired from the challenge. Isabella and Nathan went off to go collect more fruit, and Donny and Delilah went to go cut some more wood for the shelter. Amber sat by herself on the shoreline, staring out into the ocean.

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing Tribe): The loss today hit us harder than I would've thought it would. Lucas is bossy and a bit of an ass at times, but I still think it sucks that he got screwed over with the whole exile thing._

Amber got up, stretched, took off her glasses to splash some water in her face, and went to go back to her tribe.

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing Tribe): We can't afford to sulk too much. If we start acting all lethargic and mopey now, it'll be hard to get out of that mindset. We need to get our minds off of the loss and get them back to working together. We're a team, now let's put on our workin' boots and get that shelter done._

Amber walked up to the shelter, but before she could talk to Jean or Victoria, Bones walked up to Amber. "Mind if I steal some of your time for a moment?" He asked.

"Holy crap, Bones, what happened to your mask?" Amber asked, seeing the old man's face for the first time. He chuckled.

"Oh you'll see shortly. Anyway, would you like to help me start the fire? It won't take too terribly long."

"Uh, sure. What do you need me to do?" Amber asked, skeptical of any plan of his.

"I just need you to hold onto some coir fibers in your hand. I'll also need something else from you, but that should be the only real job on your end."

Amber shrugged, and the two went over to where he had set up a pit for a fire. As the pair went off, Jean and Victoria talked in the shelter.

"Might sound harsh, but I'm actually glad Lucas got sent to exile." Victoria said, resting her head on her arms as she lounged.

"Well, he did cost us the challenge today." Jean agreed.

"Right. I mean, I hope he's doing alright out there, but still." Victoria said, hoping not to sound too mean.

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing Tribe): If you were to ask me who I'd boot first in our tribe, it'd honestly be tough. I mean yeah, we got an old crazy guy who wears a mask everywhere and doesn't look that strong, but then we also got a younger bossy guy who shouts at people for bringing food and keeps tanking us in challenges. Between the two, it's honestly a toss up._

"It's alright, I know you don't wish him any ill will. Still it's nice to relax for a change." Jean said, trying to keep an eye on Amber and Bones.

"Heck yeah. I think the last time we took a break was after Lucas had his little rant at Nathan. Now that was just plain silly." Victoria said, closing her eyes as she got ready to doze off.

"No way..." Jean muttered, sitting up as she stared over at Amber and Bones.

"You don't think so?" Victoria asked, not really paying attention, "I just found it to be a little over the top. Like, there's being strict, and then there's just being a-"

"Victoria, look!" Jean shouted, shaking her tribe mate. Victoria sat up, opened her eyes, and caught a glimpse of perhaps the last thing she expected to see.

"WE'VE GOT FIRE, BABY!" Amber shouted as she hurried over by the shelter to collect some leftover wood from around the area. "Go get Donny and Delilah, tell em to start chopping some wood! We're gonna make a barbeque!" Amber continued to rush around, collecting anything she could find to toss into the small flame that she and Bones had been able to produce.

Victoria immediately was on her feet running to where she suspected Donny and Delilah to be. Meanwhile Jean stumbled over to Bones, who was sitting next to the fire with the widest grin she ever did see. She picked the man up from the ground and hugged him. After putting him back down, she asked the only question that would be on anyone's mind at the moment.

"How?"

Bones merely replied by tapping on his head, or more specifically, the rims of his glasses that had been covered by his skull mask.

 _'Bones' (History Professor, Lembing Tribe): The mask I was wearing was specially made by some of my students... chemistry students... who told me that it was, quote: "Lit." They then clarified that, on top of being new aged slang, they also meant that they made it with a highly flammable substance that burns very easily. I got all of the necessary materials, and then got my lighter, also known as dear Amber's spectacles._

Donny and Delilah arrived at camp, both of their mouths hanging open in shock as they looked at the small fire not ten feet away from their shelter. Each rushed over to add some wood to it, carefully placing it in a tipi formation to let the flame grow. They both hugged the old man, who was still grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Victoria soon came back with Nathan, Isabella, and a full pot of well water.

 _Donny (Firefighter, Lembing Tribe): You know, I had my misgivings about Quincy, or Bones or whatever you want to call him, but at the end of the day, we got fire. We got fire without having to win flint. That's pretty awesome. So yeah, the guy might be eccentric, and he might still be a bit too weird for my taste, but he's the reason I finally get to drink some clean water, so he's good enough in my book._

* * *

 _Pedang -Evening 2-_

At the Pedang tribe, the tribe was also hanging around a pile of wood, however this one had been lit ever since the tribe had gotten back. It hadn't been easy, as Julio, Marcus, and Sofia all tried to get something going with the flint, but eventually Terri took a turn with it and was able to get a few sparks to turn into a flame. Seven of the nine members of Pedang were swapping stories and jokes around the campfire. Otis was a ways away, chopping some coconuts for everyone, and Tim was a ways away in the shelter.

 _Julio (Newspaper editor, Pedang Tribe): For the last two days I've been sort of managing the tribe, giving out tasks and trying to get work done. I think it's really helped keep the tribe organized and productive. We've got a shelter, we've got fire, and so tonight I suggested that we take a bit of a break, bust open some coconuts, and have ourselves a little bonfire to celebrate two good days of work._

"So, my children see this bear at the zoo," Ahmed said, in the middle of one of his stories, "and they're enamored with it like they were the last five or six animals we'd seen that day. So my eldest, who was five at the time, she goes on an on saying she wants a bear, she loves bears now. So at the end of the trip, we go through a gift shop, and as a treat I get them all something, and for her, I got a stuffed bear. I give it to her, she takes one look at it, and throws it on the ground."

"Aww, what was wrong?' Terri asked, smiling at Ahmed's gestures as he spoke.

"That's what I was wondering. I asked, what's wrong with the bear? I thought you loved bears. And what does she say?" Ahmed's voice rose as he imitated his daughter. "That one doesn't look like you. I want one that looks like you!" Ahmed laughed, as well as some of his tribe mates. "So I ask her, why do you want a bear that looks like me? Do I look like a bear to you? And she replies, very serious, 'other dad calls you a bear all the time'."

A majority of the tribe chuckled at the punchline.

 _Ahmed (Bank Teller, Pedang Tribe): As a bank teller, I have a very social job, and I think the skill of being able to relate to people. I think, no matter where you are, it's an important skill to have. People notice you if you don't do anything, respect you if you do your job, but appreciate you if you take time to get to know them. Times like this, I think being appreciated is the kind of attention you want._

Ahmed called over to Otis and Tim. "Boys, come on over, you're missing some family bonding time!" Tim shuffled over while Otis kept on cracking coconuts.

Julio laughed as he put the remaining water in the pot into a canteen. "Alright, we've filled up about half of them. Who wants to go out on a water run?"

Katrina's hand shot up, and it was soon followed by Tim's.

"Alright, have fun you two." Julio said as he handed Tim the pot. Tim merely nodded and then left. Once the two were out of hearing range, Julio looked back to the rest of the tribe.

"That's the first time I've seen the boy do any work. Too bad my personal item wasn't a camera, or I would've taken a picture." Julio joked.

Meanwhile, Katrina and Tim walked down the path in silence. Tim looked back, making sure they were far enough out, and then decided that now was the best time to put his plan into motion.

"So, Katrina, who on the tribe would you say you trust the most?" Tim asked.

Katrina paused, trying to think of an answer. She eventually listed a few names. "I guess I'd say Terri, Sofia, and Ahmed."

Tim nodded. "Alright. Here's what I was thinking. I want to make an alliance between me, you, Terri, Sofia, and Ahmed. That'd be five people, we'd have a majority on the tribe."

Katrina said nothing and just kept walking, so Tim continued. "Then the first time we lose an immunity, we can vote off Otis, and we're all safe. If we lose any more besides that, then we just keep voting off people from the other three."

Katrina shrugged her shoulders. "Alright."

Tim smiled. "Alright, glad we had this talk. Hopefully you can talk to the other three for me and soon, we'll be running the tribe."

As the two reached the well, Tim extended his hand, and Katrina hesitantly shook it. Tim then waited while Katrina got the water from the well and poured it into the pot.

 _Tim (Cartoonist, Pedang Tribe): This is, to my knowledge, the first alliance made on this tribe. To my knowledge I'm the only person to have gone out to look for an idol. To my knowledge, I'm the only person out here really playing the game. Everyone else has been busy trying to get shelters built or get fires started, but we'll see whether or not they'll be around to enjoy them later._

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang Tribe): Our first conversation, and you're gonna start with that? Really? Man, why would I even trust you to be down for any of that? I hardly know you! I mean yeah, alliances are good, but I'd feel a lot better if I was in one with people that have had more than one conversation with me._

The two walked back to camp to rejoin in the merriment that lasted all through the night.

* * *

 _Immunity Challenge -Day 3-_

Matthew waited in a jungle clearing for the contestants to arrive. The two tribes made their way in from opposite sides and stood on their tribe mats. They looked at what looked like a primal obstacle course on the clearing. Matthew then gestured behind him.

"Now entering, Lucas from Exile Island."

Lucas looked fairly happy as he casually walked up to the Lembing mat. He received hugs from everyone.

"Lucas, how was exile?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, it wasn't half bad. Send me back any time you like." Lucas said, turning to the Pedang tribe and giving his biggest grin.

"Alright, is everyone ready for the first immunity challenge?" Matthew asked both groups. He gestured to a small marble statue of a coconut tree with a nest of birds in it.

Cheers were given from both mats.

"Here's how it'll work: On my go, each tribe will race through a vertical net crawl, slide down at the end, and then cross a balance beam over a pool. Once all nine tribe members have crossed the balance beam, one will be in charge of going to the final station. You'll be given kindling, sticks, a small block of flint, and a knife in order to make a fire big enough to burn and snap a rope that's strung above the station. First person to snap their rope wins immunity for their tribe, and safety from our first tribal council. I'll give you guys a minute to get ready, and then we'll begin."

As the tribes situated on their mats, they discussed who would do the fire station. On Lembing, Nathan and Amber both tried volunteering Bones, but he declined, saying he didn't trust himself with a knife. Jean volunteered herself, and the tribe agreed on it. Meanwhile on Pedang, Terri received nominations from Marcus, Julio, Sofia, and Otis, so she accepted. The tribes then got ready to begin the race.

"Survivors ready? GO!"

The tribes were off, ducking into the first part of the net crawl. A few tripped and stumbled on the wobbling floor. Marcus and Nathan were the first of their tribes to climb up to the second section. Marcus stuck around to help the others climb up.

"Tribes are neck and neck so far going up the net crawl."

The tribes continued to crawl, some getting stuck here or there while others flew through the course. Nathan and Victoria were the first to get through the top of the crawl and slid down the ramp at the end. They waited on the mat for the rest of the tribe before they could start on the balance beam. Bones, Isabella, and Amber were trailing the rest of the tribe, and looked to be having a difficult time.

Sofia and Harper were the first over for Pedang while Marcus helped Terri and Otis along. Tim was struggling near the middle section, getting his foot stuck in the net. The rest of the tribe seemed to be fairing better.

Lucas, Donny, and Jean made it over for Lembing as Ahmed made it over for Pedang.

"Lembing with five people over, Pedang only with three. Marcus electing to stay behind to help some of the stragglers, will teamwork prove crucial in this challenge?" Matthew observed.

Marcus was able to get Terri and Otis over with Julio and Katrina while Delilah managed to make it over for Lembing. Marcus climbed back down to help Tim, who had managed to get his foot unstuck.

Amber and Isabella got over just as Marcus and Tim got over.

"Pedang, good to go on the balance beam. Lembing, still waiting on Quincy."

Katrina was the first on the balance beam, and she practically sprinted across it. Julio and Harper went next, each one able to keep a pretty quick pace across it. As Marcus started to walk across it, Bones finally made it over the net for Lembing.

"Lembing, you're good!" Matthew announced.

Delilah was the first to go, able to quickly walk across. Amber went next, and was able to make it just as Marcus made it across, who had been stumbling and nearly fell in once or twice.

"Lembing with two across. Pedang with four. Still anyone's game!"

Donny quickly walked across while Ahmed got on the beam. Ahmed made it a few steps before he started wobbling. He tried throwing his hands out to try to regain his balance, but he fell off of the beam and into the water. Donny safely made it to the other side.

"Ahmed falls in, has to swim back. Someone else walk for Pedang." Matthew called out.

Terri elected to go next, and tried going a bit slower. Lucas went up for Lembing and tried running through it like Katrina, but his left foot missed the beam on his second step and he crashed into the water. As he swam back, Jean started making her way across, taking a page out of Terri's book and going slowly.

"This part of the challenge may take a while." Matthew said.

-15 minutes later-

"Pedang, still waiting on Otis and Tim to get through. Lembing, waiting for Quincy and Isabella."

Tim was currently on the balance beam, trying to crawl on his belly. Isabella was shimmying sideways, stopping every other second to wobble back and forth and then regain her balance. Otis and Bones both were waiting back on their mat, out of breath and soaking wet, much like the two on the beams. The castaways that had already made it over ranged from energetic and encouraging to bored and irritated.

Finally, one of the young contestants made it across.

"Isabella across for Lembing, only Quincy needs to cross to get them to the final stage." Matthew said, quickly checking his watch before going back to look at the challenge.

Tim continued his slow and awkward belly crawl, 3/4ths of the way across, while Bones walked up to his beam. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and put both arms out as he took his first step onto the beam.

 _Sploosh!_

Bones opened his eyes to see Tim had fallen in the water. He couldn't help but laugh, backing up so he himself wouldn't fall into the water. "How did he even fall?"

"Bones, hurry up man, we're still in a challenge. Let's end this already!" Nathan shouted.

"Oh right." Bones placed his foot back on the beam and slowly made his way to the other side. Otis also tried to slowly walk across, but he couldn't make it five feet without tipping over. Tim managed to get back on the platform and tried walking it, but this too proved futile and he hardly made it farther than Otis.

Bones meanwhile, managed to make it to the other side of the beam.

"Lembing, going to the final stage of the challenge!" Matthew shouted.

Jean quickly made her way over to the fire making station. She received shouts of encouragement from her tribe, while Pedang looked on with futility at Otis trying desperately to make it past the beam.

 _Sploosh!_

And failing.

Jean got her supplies set up and started striking at her flint.

"Pedang still has time to catch up, but they're gonna need to move fast." Matthew warned. "Immunity from tribal council on the line."

Tim decided to go for a slower approach and shimmied sideways. As he got half way, Jean was able to get a spark to catch on her kindling, turning into a small flame. That flame soon became a large fire that licked at the rope above.

Tim, after about twenty minutes of failing, finally managed to make it across the beam. He weakly pumped his fist in the air as he plopped down on the ground. Meanwhile, Otis cautiously tried doing what Tim had been doing, but ended up falling in. It didn't really matter, though.

"LEMBING WINS IMMUNITY! SAFE FROM TRIBAL COUNCIL!"

The Pedang tribe turned their attention to Jean's fire, which had just burnt through the rope above it. The Lembing tribe all rushed to her, hugging and shouting in celebration.

Marcus summed up the feeling of his tribe in a short, muttered statement.

"Welp... sh(censored)t."

The tribes assembled on their mats. Matthew carried the marble statue over to Lembing, letting Jean hold onto it.

"Lembing, safe from tribal, you can head on back to your camp, get Lucas here caught up on camp life. Pedang, you can also head back to camp, but get ready for a trek to tribal council tonight, where one of you will be the first person voted out of Survivor Maldives. I'll see you later."

The tribes dispersed, Pedang a mixture of scowls and grimaces.

 _Otis (Postal Worker, Pedang Tribe): I definitely think I'm in trouble tonight. I'm the only person who didn't get over the balance beam today, Marcus had to help me up the net, I just put in a miserable performance. I just hope my work around camp has been appreciated._

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang Tribe): We've got two big weak links on our tribe, an' they're the two guys that cost us the challenge today. Ol' Otis 'n Tiny Tim were just painful to watch, but what d'ya expect from a grandpa and a boy who looks skinnier than a fence post, and is about as talkative. One of them has to go if we wanna get anywhere in these challenges._

* * *

 _Pedang -Day 3-_

The tribe gathered around the camp fire. Otis wanted to try and lift up his tribe mates' spirits before they went to tribal.

"Guys," Otis started, "it's been a pleasure playing with all of you. We just need to make sure this is the last time this happens. I'm confident that, after tonight, we won't have to set foot over at tribal until merge. Who's with me?"

The tribe agreed. Katrina looked around at her tribe until her eyes rested on Tim, who kept glancing between her and Sofia. As the tribe started dispersing, she gave a small nod to Tim before going over to Sofia.

"Hey, mind if I talk with you real quick?" Katrina whispered.

"Sure." Sofia replied.

The two walked into the jungle. Tim smiled as he watched them go.

 _Tim (Cartoonist, Pedang Tribe): I'm not the best at talking to people I don't know, so I'm glad I'm able to have Katrina sort of be my lifeline. After this tribal, I'll probably try to start having more conversations with the people in my alliance, but for right now I'm more than happy to depend on Katrina to be my social link to the tribe._

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Sofia asked.

"I just wanted to see where your head was at for voting tonight." Katrina responded.

"I was thinking Otis. He was the only one not to make it across the beam today, and I don't know how many challenges he'll be that good at down the road." Sofia explained, having given it some thought before the challenge. "I know Julio and Ahmed were kind of on a similar thought process."

"Cool, sounds good," Katrina said, "you've got good reasoning. However, I was thinking someone else."

"Really, who's that?" Sofia questioned.

"What are your thoughts on a Tim boot?"

Sofia raised her eyebrows. "I figured we'd just get him out afterwards. What makes you want to take him out now?"

"He's hardly done a thing around camp, he's about as bad as Otis in challenges, and he pulled me aside yesterday and sorta just put me on the spot, started asking me rapid fire questions about who I trusted and all that."

Sofia's eyebrows furrowed as she listened. "What led to that conversation?"

"Absolutely nothing." Katrina threw her hands up in the air. "I hardly even get the chance to say hi and he starts hitting me with a proposition for an alliance. It was like, the first time we'd spoken to each other."

"Well... points for enthusiasm on his part. So, you want to get rid of Tim first?" Sofia asked.

"Yeah, I just think I'd rather want someone who works instead of schemes hanging around."

"Alright, I'll think about it. I'm still not sure keeping Otis around longer is the right decision."

"The way I see it, if we lose again we get rid of Otis then. At least we don't have to worry about Otis going around trying to make spontaneous alliances."

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang Tribe): Heading into this tribal, I want Tim gone. I know he says he has trust in me, but he made an alliance with me before we even really discussed much of anything else. He strikes me as someone who'd rather just make a bunch of options for himself than stay loyal to a deal, and I don't need one of those guys on my tribe._

Sofia nodded. "Well, I'll talk with Ahmed about it. If you really feel strongly about this, you might want to talk to Julio, he's the only other person that really felt strongly about booting Otis, to my knowledge."

The two shook hands, and departed.

Meanwhile, Marcus, Harper, and Terri were out sitting on the beach, enjoying the sights and taking time to relax before tribal. Terri looked back at camp, seeing Otis boiling water, Julio talking to Katrina, Ahmed and Sofia talking about something, and Tim lying down in the shelter.

Terri turned her attention to the two workhorses of the tribe.

"So, I was hoping, so long as you guys weren't voting me, I could vote with you on this tribal? I haven't really talked to anyone about it yet, so..." Terri trailed off.

"I haven't decided yet." Marcus replied.

"I aint got any idea yet, either. Definitely between the Oats n' Tiny." Harper said.

Terri had to remember which person Harper had given the nicknames to. After remembering, she nodded.

"Well, when you guys make up your minds, please tell me." Terri requested.

 _Marcus (Construction Worker, Pedang Tribe): So I've been fairly quiet these first few days. Not to the extent of some people, I still go out and make conversation with everyone. Main thing I've been trying to avoid is having an opinion on the vote tonight. I've been hanging around Harper because she doesn't mind at all at speaking for the both of us. (Marcus chuckles.) So even if something comes back to bite me in the butt, I can use the excuse that I just went along with what Harper said._

"We will. An' hey, if'n we can't make up our minds til tribal, how's about this: if we wanna vote for that one," Harper pointed to the left, "then I'll give you a thumbs up before we vote. If we go for that one," Harper pointed off screen to the right, "then I'll give you a peace sign."

Terri smirked. "How very dramatic."

 _Terri (Grocery Store Manager, Pedang Tribe): From what I gathered, I won't have to worry about it being me tonight. I think everyone has agreed to it being either Otis or Tim. I'm perfectly fine with either, though I'm a bit more partial to Tim, all things considered. If we start voting out the older bunch who aren't as challenge savvy, I may end up seeing my way right out after Otis. I agreed to vote with Harper and Marcus but... I'll be much more obligated to stay true to my word if they decide what I want to happen._

Tim lounged on the shelter, watching Katrina talk to Julio.

 _Tim (Cartoonist, Pedang Tribe): I don't think I need to be too worried tonight. I've got Katrina, who talked to Sofia and Julio. Sofia went and talked to Ahmed. I haven't seen anyone talk to Terri, but I'm sure Katrina will get around to it. It may be a bit risky to put all of my eggs into the Katrina basket, but I'm confident that tonight will prove I put my trust in the right person. Once tonight is done and Otis is gone, then it'll be time to really solidify a dominant alliance._

* * *

 _Tribal Council -Night 3-_

The tribe marched single file up to a wrecked cargo ship. They entered through a large hole on the side of the hull, seeing Matthew sitting on the opposite side of a fire. They each walked up to the fire.

"Everyone dip your torches in and light them." Matthew ordered, and the Pedangs followed his instructions. "In this game, fire represents life. Once your torch is out, so are you."

After lighting the torches, they each rammed them into the sand as they found small stumps to sit on. After everyone was seated, Matthew gestured around.

"This is tribal council. Here is where the terrible deed of voting out one of your fellow tribe mates will occur. You will walk into that room." Matthew pointed to a small office with broken windows that contained a desk. On the desk was a marker, several blank parchments, and an urn. "You'll write down the name of the person you wish to vote out, hold it up, and then fold it and put it in the urn. Once everyone has voted, I'll go in, grab the urn, bring it out and tally the results. The person with the highest amount of votes will then have their torch snuffed and will immediately leave out the other side of the ship. Understood?"

The tribe all muttered agreement.

"Alright. So before we start with the votes, let's talk. Ahmed, are you disappointed that you guys lost the first immunity challenge?"

Ahmed chuckled. "Well it's not exactly something to be proud of, is it?" Some members of the tribe gave a small laugh to the response. Ahmed then went on to elaborate. "I think we're all disappointed, but hopefully it'll reinvigorate us to do better for the next challenge."

Matthew turned his attention to a different tribe member. "Sofia, what do you think your tribe has over the other tribe?"

Sofia took a moment to think before coming up with an answer. "I think we've got less friction over here. I might be misjudging, but it seems like there might already be some tension going on in the other tribe. I saw one of the guys smiling when we sent Lucas to exile, and it looks like they've got quite a few big personalities over there."

"Julio, what do you think this tribe needs to work on?" Matthew asked the older man.

"I think our strongest people are stronger than their strongest." Julio started, trying to be careful with his words. "However, our weakest people seem to be a bit weaker than their weakest people."

Matthew cocked an eyebrow. "Do you think the weak people of the tribe know they're viewed as such?"

Julio sighed, conscious what he said might not be taken well. "I think they do."

Matthew nodded, then went to address the whole tribe. "Who here thinks they're one of the weak links Julio mentioned?"

An awkward pause was had as the tribe sat in silence without moving, but it was broken when one person raised their hand.

"Me." Otis spoke in a neutral voice. This was followed up by Terri and Tim raising their hands.

"Are those the people you were referring to, Julio?" Matthew asked.

"Yes." Julio replied bluntly. He figured there was no walking around the bush at this point.

"So Otis, if you think you're one of the weak links, how do you try to prove to others that you still have worth?"

Otis sighed. "I've just been trying to do the best that I can. Whether it be at camp or in challenges, I'm always trying to give it my all. Sometimes what I've got just isn't enough, and there's not much I can do for that."

"Terri, how does it feel to be labeled as one of the weak ones of the tribe?"

Terri shrugged. "How do you think?"

Matthew snickered at the reply. "Not too good, I'd imagine."

"Yeah, not a fan." Terri said. She quickly added, "I can see where he's coming from, and I'm not saying he doesn't have valid points, but yeah, it's just not a good position to be in. I know it's nothing personal." Terri said, looking over at Julio, who nodded in return.

"Tim, what's the best way to get out of your position?"

"The answer is simple, Matt." Tim replied, as if it was an obvious answer. "Just prove to everyone that you're not the most expendable person here."

"Do you believe you're one of, if not the most expendable?"

"No, I don't." Tim smugly replied.

"Alright, looks like we'll soon find out who the tribe believes is, as you put it, the most expendable. It's time to vote. Otis, you're up first."

Otis walked into the room and uncapped the marker. He scribbled down three letters.

Tim

"Tim, you're a good kid. I feel it's going to come down to the two of us, so I'll wish you luck, but I'll wish me more." He put the vote in the urn and went back.

As Sofia and Ahmed took their turns voting, Terri made eye contact with Harper, who flashed her a thumbs up. Terri mimicked the signal in return, and watched as Harper went to go vote.

Marcus went after her, and then Julio went.

Julio uncapped the marker and wrote clearly the name of who he considered the weakest member of the tribe.

Otis

"This is nothing personal. I just don't want to come back here."

Tim went in next and voted the same as the previous person.

Otis

"Easiest vote of the season."

Katrina walked up next to cast her vote. She wrote in cursive and ended the name with a heart.

Tim

"Good idea for an alliance. Next time, put more effort into it, and maybe don't make someone else do all the work. Oh, and the heart is for making me get all the water and carry it back to camp. Thanks a lot, buddy."

Finally, Terri came in and cast the final vote. She paused for a brief moment before finally deciding on a name.

?

"I have a feeling this might cause me trouble down the road, but right now, it's what needs to happen. I doubt it'll make too big a difference, but you never know.

Terri walked back to her spot, and Matthew went to go retrieve the urn. He brought it back to his seat and placed it on there while he stood.

"Once the votes are read, the decision is final, player voted out will have to leave the tribal council immediately. I'll read the votes."

Matthew picked out a random parchment.

"First vote: Otis."

Otis sighed. He knew it wouldn't be the only one.

"Second vote: Otis."

Julio nodded. Tim smiled.

"Third vote: Tim."

Tim's smile faltered for a second, but he shrugged off the surprise. So Otis had voted for him? Big deal. It would probably be the only one.

"Fourth vote: Otis. That's three votes for Otis, one for Tim."

Harper looked to Marcus for confirmation, and he nodded his head. Harper tried to make eye contact with Terri, but she was staring at the urn.

"Fifth vote: Tim."

Tim was a bit more taken aback by this one, but he still tried to maintain his composure. He wondered who else had voted for him.

"Sixth vote: Tim."

Tim's eyes darted back and forth frantically as he tried to figure out who had voted for him.

"Seventh vote: Otis. That's four votes Otis, three votes Tim."

The vote seemed to get Tim to relax a bit, and Otis had a reigned look in his eye.

"Eighth vote: Tim."

Tim's relief flew right out the window as his panic came back in full force. Otis also seemed fairly surprised.

"Nice heart." Tim said, trying to lighten his own mood with a joke. Katrina tried not to grin too much.

"Where we stand right now is four votes for Otis, four votes for Tim, one vote left. If the vote isn't for either of you, it'll go to a revote, with Otis and Tim not being able to vote."

Matthew pulled the final parchment out of the urn.

"Ninth vote and first person voted out of Survivor Maldives is..."

Tim was sitting on the edge of his seat, Otis was making sure all of his stuff was packed for when he was booted, and Terri kept staring at the urn. Matthew unfolded the parchment and showed it to the tribe.

"Tim. Five votes, that's enough, please come bring me your torch."

Tim's mouth hung open as he slowly got up off of his seat and walked over to grab his torch. Harper looked back to Marcus, almost equally in shock. He merely shrugged. As Tim walked up to Matthew, he looked back to see Katrina smiling back at him and waving.

"Tim, the tribe has spoken."

Matthew extinguished the flame on Tim's torch. Tim looked heart broken, but put on a happy face as he turned towards his tribe.

"Thanks guys, it's been fun." He said, not sounding very convincing. He walked past Matthew and exited the ship from the opposite side.

"You guys talked about getting rid of the weakest member of your tribe. Let's hope that accomplished something. Head back to camp, good night."

The eight remaining Pedang members got up and left.

* * *

 _Next time on Survivor..._

 _Otis might find his position in the tribe to rise significantly as the tribe questions the honesty of some members. Meanwhile on Lembing, two alliances form, with Jean and Victoria in the middle. Find out what happens next time on Survivor: Maldives._

Tim's last words: "I'm still stunned from what happened. I was so sure I had everything under control. Still, I love this show, I love that I got a chance to play... I'd rather take the bitter pill of being the first boot then never be on at all. I can take solace in that."

* * *

Votes for Otis: Tim, Julio, Marcus, Harper

Votes for Tim: Otis, Katrina, Ahmed, Sofia, Terri


	2. Get Rid of Headaches

_Previously on Survivor..._

 _18 Americans started the adventure of a lifetime as they were split into two tribes, Pedang in grey and Lembing in brown._

 _At the Pedang tribe, while the group as a whole were efficient at both creating a stable campsite and winning the first reward of flint, certain individuals stood out for not being social with the group._

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang Tribe): I think the two people who haven't really done much talking are Otis and Tim._

 _At the Lembing tribe, Quincy, going by the nickname of Bones, was making memorable first impressions,_

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing Tribe): I had no idea cartoon characters were real, but we've got one in our camp, and his name Bones._

 _Lucas and Nathan argued over work around camp,_

 _Nathan made a face. "Assign someone to fruit duty? Really?"_

 _"What's wrong with that?" Lucas asked, his brows furrowing._

 _and after the Reward Challenge, Lucas found himself the first person of the season to go to Exile Island, where he was given the choice of either trying to find an idol or lounging with food and shelter. Feeling he was safe within his tribe, he chose the latter._

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing Tribe): The most important factor in my decision is this: Do I think I'm the lowest on the tribe totem pole? And the answer to that question seems simple to me._

 _At the immunity challenge, Tim and Otis's inability to overcome the balance beam cost their tribe immunity._

 _"LEMBING WINS IMMUNITY! SAFE FROM TRIBAL COUNCIL!"_

 _Before Tribal Council, Tim tried to make an alliance with Katrina, Sofia, Ahmed, and Terri, but after trying to make Katrina do all of the work, she instead campaigned to get rid of Tim. Terri discussed the vote with Harper and Marcus, and the three agreed to vote as a block._

 _At Tribal, Julio pinpointed Otis, Tim, and Terri as who he suspected to be the weakest link, and he, Harper, Marcus, and Tim voted Otis's way, but Katrina, Sofia, Ahmed, Otis, and Terri, who went back on her word to vote with Harper and Marcus, voted for Tim, making him the first castaway eliminated from the game._

 _"Tim, the tribe has spoken."_

 _17 are left, who will be voted out next?_

* * *

 _Pedang tribe -Night 3-_

The tribe trudged back into camp in the dark of the night, their torches lay in a pile on the ground at the base of the large tree. Katrina was all smiles, hugging most of her tribemates.

"Thank you everybody, my headache has now disappeared." She said over dramatically.

Most of the tribe went towards the shelter to catch some shut eye, and that was Terri's initial plan as well, until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Is it alright if we talk?" Harper asked. Terri shrugged her shoulders. She expected that Harper and Marcus would talk to her eventually on how the votes went down. The two made their way down to the beach, a ways away from Katrina who was laying down, stargazing in her usual spot.

"So, Tiny got the boot." Harper said, keeping her voice neutral. She looked out into the ocean.

"Yes." Terri replied nonchalantly.

"Are ya happy 'bout that?" Harper asked, glancing at Terri as she waited for a response.

Terri fought the urge to roll her eyes as she sighed. "I doubt anyone is happy that we had to get rid of someone."

Harper decided to quit beating around the bush. "You voted for Tim."

"Yes."

"You said you were gonna vote with us." Harper continued.

"Yes." Terri said, a bit indignant at the fact that she was getting interrogated by a woman half her age.

"Why didn't ya say you wanted him out? We woulda went with ya!" Harper exclaimed.

"I hadn't decided on voting for him until I got to tribal council. At that point, there wasn't really a way I could've told you without it looking obvious that we were working together." Terri answered.

Harper rubbed her forehead. "Fine, but could you at least promise that next time you make up your mind, you'll at least tell us? Cuz I really ain't a fan of folks who go back on their word."

"Sure." Terri replied.

The two went back to camp, neither one too pleased with how the conversation went down.

 _Terri (Grocery store manager, Pedang): My move was not properly planned out, and I knew there'd be some repercussions. Thankfully, Harper seems to have taken it well enough, and I got rid of who I wanted out. All in all, not a bad day._

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang): Terri asks me if she can vote with me, I say yes. She goes and votes the opposite o' what I say. Welp, good-bye to any trust I had in her. Honestly, if you can't even keep your word fer longer n' a few hours, how am I supposed to work with you for 30-some days?_

* * *

 _Lembing -Morning 4-_

As the sun peaked over the horizon to greet Lembing beach, two of the tribe were already out in the trees, chatting and strolling towards the water well.

"So he asks me what I didn't like." Delilah said, in the middle of a story. "He honestly had no idea what there was to not like about the date."

Donny chuckled. "Wow, he had no clue?"

"Nope. So I basically just listed everything that happened that night." Delilah started counting on her fingers. "The fact that he was late, the fact that he was obnoxious the entire car ride and all throughout supper, the fact that he stiffed me with the bill, AND on top of that, the fact that he said he had a girlfriend."

Donny laughed, and then tried to imitate the voice Delilah had used for her date earlier. "But we're basically already broken up."

Delilah snickered at the voice. "Don't go sounding too much like him, I might just smack you out of impulse."

"Oh, is that how the story ends," Donny asked in between bouts of laughing.

"No, though in hindsight, I wish it was. He just scoffed, told me in his most mature voice ' _Ugh, fine'_ and stormed off back to his beat up little hummer. I was never more happy to have a date be done and over with." Delilah said.

The two got to the well, and started retrieving water, putting it in canteens and the cooking pot.

 _Donny (Firefighter, Lembing): The one person on the tribe I like the most is Delilah. She's funny, she's athletic, and she's incredibly smart. I think she's definitely invaluable to the tribe, and she's certainly made my time out here easier by being such an easy person to talk to._

As Delilah pulled up another bucket of water, she looked around.

"So, now that we're alone," Delilah said, "what are your thoughts on the tribe, so far?"

"Eh, not bad." Donny said. "Definitely a... unique group of people."

 _Delilah (Pharmacist, Lembing): Last night, while everyone was celebrating the victory and whatnot, I had been thinking of how someone was being voted out. I wasn't sad about it or anything, but it did make me realize that I should probably start putting thought into what should happen on our tribe if we ever lose._

"Who would you say are some of our better competitors?" Delilah asked.

"You, definitely." Donny said without hesitation. "Nathan is pretty tough, Victoria is pretty strong, from what I've seen of her, and Jean is really good at making fire with the flint, so when we get that we won't have to worry if the fire we've got going ever dies out."

Delilah nodded at all of the choices. "I couldn't agree more," she paused before continuing, "who do you think is the weakest person on the tribe?"

Donny looked into the well as he contemplated the question.

"I'd probably say Bones. I hate to say it, because the old man did get us fire, which kicks ass, but at the same time he's not the greatest help in challenges. Or at least, he hasn't been so far."

Delilah filed up the last of the canteens. "I see what you're saying there. When we lose, I definitely think he's a good contender for who we vote off."

" _If_ we lose, which I don't foresee happening anytime soon." Donny said confidently.

"Unless it's a swimming challenge and we have to carry Lucas on our backs." Delilah smirked. She knew that Donny was on good terms with Lucas, and while she didn't hate the guy, she knew a liability when she saw one.

"Well, hopefully one of these days I could try taking Lucas out and show him how to swim."

"That oughta be fun to see, I might come over just for the show." Delilah joked.

As the two made their way back to camp, others were in the process of waking up. Lucas groggily got up to check on the fire, which was getting concernedly low. He used the last of the dry wood in the pile and added it to the flame, and walked over to the shelter.

"Hey, I need some people to go get some more firewood. I'm going to start cooking pretty quick here."

Amber, who had just gotten out of the shelter, rolled her eyes. "Sure thing, boss."

Bones, who had been laying down, shot up energetically. "I'll assist. Don't want you doing all the work by your lonesome."

Amber smiled as she waited for the older man to wriggle out of the shelter. She grabbed the machete, and the two set off for the trees, scanning the ground for usable wood.

"So Amber, when did you enter the mechanic profession?" Bones asked, picking up some smaller twigs.

"Well, I've been officially working at my dad's auto shop for four years." Amber answered. "Though I always hung around there and helped out when I was younger."

"I suppose your father's occupation supplied your interest in the career?" Bones added a few more sticks to his load.

"Yeah, I guess. How about you, what made you want to be a teacher?" Amber questioned, stopping to examine a dead tree on the ground.

"Well, I have a general disdain for most fields, but I was told at a young age I had the gift of gab and I usually excelled at my studies. When those are your only strong suits, a teaching job is just about the best thing you can do." Bones said, leaning on a tree as Amber began to whack at some large branches.

"Do you enjoy it?" Amber asked, getting a bit winded after chopping a few branches off.

"Oh it's divine. My coworkers and I have a nice camaraderie, my bosses allow me great freedom in my teaching methods, and my students are my pride and joy." Bones replied with glee.

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard a teacher call his students that." Amber laughed. "Heck, I think it's the first time I've ever heard a teacher say _anything_ nice about his students."

"Well, I might as well be positive about them, I'm stuck with them whether I like it or not." Bones chortled.

"By that logic, I can't wait to be your pride and joy, too." Amber quipped, content with the branches she chopped off.

"Wonderful, that means I can start grading you like all of the others. You get a B+ in wood chopping, an A- in conversation topics, and a significantly low D- in choice of company." Bones said as the two started making their way back to camp.

"Wow, way to have a high opinion of yourself." Amber smirked.

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing Tribe): I personally think Bones is a good guy. He talks weird and he's got a... different way of looking at things, but there's no doubt he's definitely a positive guy. I know that our tribe could definitely use the positivity._

* * *

 _Pedang -Day 4-_

Marcus strolled through the brush, taking in the exotic sights. He saw small birds flit through the branches, geckos and skinks hugging to the tree trunks, and occasionally a small shrew would scamper by his feet from one bush to the other. While he admired the sights, he never really took his attention off of his target.

Otis was out collecting firewood, mainly gathering any dry twigs or sticks he could find scattered around on the ground. Marcus casually made his way up to the old man.

 _Marcus (Construction Worker, Pedang): I haven't talked to Otis at all, really, and for the last three days I figured I wouldn't need to because he would be our probable first boot. However, he's still here, and even though I'd bet money on him being the next one gone, it's better to have someone who's casting a vote to like you than to be impartial of you._

"Hey Otis." Marcus greeted.

Otis looked up from the ground, and gave a polite nod. "Hello Marcus."

"Do you want any help." Marcus inquired.

"No, I think I'm alright." Otis said.

"You sure?" Marcus asked again. Otis was about to respond, but paused to think about it.

 _Otis (Postal Worker, Pedang): I nearly went home last night because of two things. I haven't performed well in challenges, and I've been so focused on trying to do work that I've completely neglected to socialize more with my tribe. While I'm not sure how much I could improve on the first problem, I can certainly make efforts to fix the latter._

"I suppose, if you'd like, I could use an extra set of hands breaking off some of the drier branches from these trees. Sofia is out somewhere getting firewood as well, and she's got the machete."

Marcus smiled. "Sounds good." The two got to work pulling at and picking up branches from dead trees and chatted as they did so.

Back at camp, Sofia had just returned from going out to get firewood, taking a small break and resting on the shelter floor. She had a plan laid out for the day, and it included talking to Katrina.

 _Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang): I'd like to try and get something started on this tribe. That last vote was way closer than it needed to be, and I don't think there was much of any communication or coordination from anyone, aside from Katrina, Ahmed, and me. So, once I get the opportunity, I might try to talk Katrina into an alliance... and probably try to phrase it better than the way Tim did._

She glanced around the camp, seeing everyone getting work done. Katrina and Harper were out gathering fruit, Ahmed and Terri were just coming back with water, and Julio was looking over the shelter, trying to find any spots that might need redoing. Sofia decided to talk to Julio while she waited for Katrina to return to camp.

"Hey Julio, do you know where Marcus and Otis went off to?" Sofia asked. Last she had seen, the two had been sound asleep in the shelter.

"I thought they went out to go help you get firewood." Julio said, his interest staying on a loose piece of bamboo.

"Nope, haven't seen them since this morning." Sofia said, scanning along the beach to see if she could spot the pair anywhere.

"Well, they're not the kind of guys to shirk work, I'm sure they're getting something done." Julio said as he wiggled the bamboo around. "Do you think we should fix this today? Stop it from getting even more loose?"

Sofia grinned and rolled her eyes. "Julio, take a break, buddy. You're going to work yourself to death."

Julio's lips curved upwards slightly, which was the biggest positive reaction Sofia had ever seen him give. "Well, I guess I could try taking it a bit easier. At the very least I can chop a few coconuts." He said. "Then I'll rest my feet for a bit. That sound better?"

Sofia patted her friend on the back. "Baby steps, Julio, baby steps."

 _Julio (Newspaper Editor, Pedang): I came out here knowing I wouldn't be the toughest or the smartest, and I'm not the most talkative member of the tribe, but there's a title just as valuable as that, and that's the hardest worker. My plan is to make sure it's known that I'm doing the most work around camp, and then once we're far enough in, I slow it down and start focusing more on my social game. To my knowledge, people like a workhorse more than a chatter box._

As Julio went to the batch of coconuts, Harper and Katrina were back on their way from the foliage. Their conversation had been a slightly different topic.

"I'm not sure I feel comfortable making any sort of deal with you on votes." Katrina said cautiously. Harper had been trying to make a pitch for an alliance to her while the pair was scouring the jungle for fruit. While she had felt more comfortable with Harper than she had with Tim, and she was thankful for being able to get a few more words in edgewise in this strategic chat, she still was hesitant to commit to anything.

Harper shook her head. "I sure don't wanna pressure ya into somethin' yur uncomfortable with. I don't wanna make any brash decisions neither. I just thought it might be... mutually beneficial for us to communicate if and when the time for votin' comes up."

Katrina contemplated the younger woman's argument. "Can I have your word that if and when I do tell you, you won't go around telling other people what I told you?"

Harper smiled. "Cross my heart and hope to die, darlin'."

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang Tribe): What is it about me exactly that makes everyone want to try and make an alliance? Seriously, I just want to go out and get some fruit, I don't need to talk about votes or alliances while doing it. Why can't we just talk about the weather or something!_

* * *

 _-Lembing Morning 5-_

Victoria yawned as she stretched, being one of the last ones to get out of bed yet again. She got up and lazily sauntered over to the fire, where Delilah and Jean were cooking the morning's rice.

"Good morning sunshine." Jean said, stirring the rice around.

"Morning mom." Victoria muttered, still half asleep. She paused as she realized what she had just said.

"Oh, so I'm 'mom' now?" Jean asked, smiling.

"I just said good morning. I sorta mumbled your name, that's all." Victoria quickly lied.

"Mhm, sure, honey." Jean replied, trying her best to not chuckle at the student's reaction. At this, Victoria blushed. Delilah tried her best to stifle her laughter at the scene.

"So, should I wait for Lucas to come and give me orders, or has he already written them down in the sand somewhere?" Victoria asked.

"He went off to look for some food. Either that or he went to go have another argument with Nathan, wherever he is." Jean answered.

"Alright. I think I might go check tree mail, see if we got anything today." Victoria said.

"Alright." Jean said, shooing her off. As Victoria left, Delilah started laughing.

"That was the most adorable thing." Delilah wheezed out. She calmed down as she stated scooping out the first cup of rice. Jean scooped out one for herself, and the two clapped their cups together in cheers.

"So Jean," Delilah started, "I was wondering. Is there anyone you feel close with on this tribe? Trust-wise?"

Jean took a bite of rice, and waited until she was done chewing before she answered.

 _Jean (Nurse, Lembing Tribe): I could lie to her. I could easily lie to her. But that wouldn't be smart. This early in the game, lying isn't necessary, and it's far from beneficial._

"I guess I'd have to say Victoria. We've both talked quite a bit. I trust you, as well." Jean responded.

Delilah nodded. "Likewise. I have a proposition, if you'd like to hear it."

Jean took another bite of rice, and gestured for Delilah to continue.

"Me, you, Victoria, and Donny. The four of us work together, and if we pull in one more, we've got a majority. What do you think?" Delilah said.

Jean processed the deal. After munching thoughtfully, she cleared her throat.

"Sounds good." Jean bluntly replied. Delilah smiled, relieved and eager to hear that response. She reached out her hand, and Jean took and shook it.

 _Delilah (Pharmacist, Lembing Tribe): I want to get a strong group together. Jean is someone I consider to be mentally strong, Victoria and Donny seem physically strong, and on top of it, I think I've got a good, strong bond with at least one, if not two of them. I just need to keep up good relations with my people and try and scope out who a good fifth person would be._

The two finished their cups of rice before going to find the others. As the two went out around camp, Victoria was just arriving at the tree where the statue had been. This time, the item was a flag with a note. As she plucked off the note to read it, she failed to notice someone walking up behind her.

"Hey, what've you got there?"

Victoria clutched at her chest as she spun around. She found the cause of her surprise to be Amber, who was giggling at her tribemate's reaction.

"Sorry, didn't mean to spook ya so bad." Amber apologized.

"It's alright. I was just reading tree mail." Victoria said, showing the note to Amber. "I think we're doing dodge-ball with coconuts?"

Amber cocked an eyebrow as she read the note.

"No need to be crafty, no need to be bold, just hope that you have enough brute strength to hold. Running around, find yourself in a rut, reward goes to those who can throw coconuts."

"What do you think of that?" Victoria asked.

Amber smirked. "I think whoever is writing these tree mails is getting paid too much. I'm also thinking I'm feeling hungry, wanna go grab a bite to eat?"

"I think Jean and Delilah just got done with the rice." Victoria said.

"Nah, if we're going into a challenge like this, we're gonna need the breakfast of champions." Amber waved the note around.

"I didn't realize Wheaties grew on tropical islands." Victoria joked.

"You know what I mean. Let's make some charred coconuts." Amber said, already feeling her mouth watering at the thought.

Victoria found her friend's eagerness amusing. "Alright chef, lead the way."

Amber batted her eyelashes at Victoria. "Aww, you sure you don't wanna learn how to make them? It'd be a nice skill to have."

Victoria gave the mechanic a playful shove. "Nice try, but that little trick doesn't work on me as well as it does everyone else." Amber put her hand to her chest, her face conveying a tone of mock hurt.

"I don't just bat my eyes for _everyone,_ Vicky. You make me sound like some kinda harlot."

Victoria laughed at her antics. "You've been hanging around Bones too much, that's the first I've ever heard anyone use the word 'harlot' in conversation."

"Alright, alright." Amber said, reaching up slightly to put her arm around Victoria. "How about this. Let's make a wager on who has snack duty."

The two continued to talk as they made their way into camp.

* * *

- _Pedang Morning_ -

Ahmed and Terri, meanwhile, were also discussing their plans for the upcoming three days.

"All I'm saying is that once Otis leaves, it'll be me or you on the chopping block." Terri stated.

"I hear what you're saying, but winning the challenges should be more important than trying to make sure you don't look the weakest. Besides, I've never heard anyone on this tribe call you weak." Ahmed argued, trying his hardest to keep his naturally loud voice toned down a bit.

"I guess you tuned out during tribal council last night, then." Terri muttered.

Ahmed sighed. "I know what you're talking about, and I'm not sure if you can really put too much stock in what Julio said. I'm pretty sure he was mainly focusing on Otis."

"He promoted getting rid of the players he thought were weak, and he confirmed that he thought I was one of the weak people on the tribe. There's honestly not much more to it." Terri said.

"Have you tried talking to him about it?" Ahmed asked.

"Have you had a conversation with him that wasn't camp related?" Terri asked snidely. It was a bit of a running joke that all Julio said and thought about was work needing to be done around camp.

"A brief one here or there, but not anything too big." Ahmed contemplated whether or not to continue arguing. "Maybe this next challenge might help shed some light on which way to go?"

Terri shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe."

Ahmed tried to end the conversation on a positive tone. "And hey, maybe we win the next immunity challenge and won't have to worry about who the next boot should be."

Terri smiled at Ahmed, nodding. As the older man walked away, however, Terri's smile vanished.

 _Terri (Grocery store manager, Pedang): I'm not the best person when it comes to trying to politely convince people to take my side on something. With me, either you agree or disagree, I tell you why you're wrong if you disagree, and we continue talking until you realize you're wrong or I realize you're hopeless. I don't know how I'm going to be able to get Julio out, but I'll be- wait, what's going on now?_

Terri left her confessional as she and the other members of Pedang heard a shout come from camp.

"Medical! Can we get someone over here please!" Sofia's voice rang out.

* * *

 _Reward Challenge -Day 5-_

Lembing arrived to their challenge mat, everyone anxious to see who was voted off of Pedang. Matthew, wearing a large hat to keep the sun out of his eyes, saw the other tribe walking in. As the remaining Pedang members got onto the mat, the host decided to let the other tribe officially know who got the boot.

"Lembing, getting your first look at the new Pedang tribe. Tim voted out at the last tribal council."

The reactions of the Lembing tribe were mixed, some groaning, some giving curious looks to the Pedang members, and Amber cheering while Victoria playfully punched her arm.

"Amber, you seem particularly happy. Why the big reaction to seeing Tim go?" Matthew asked.

"Vicky and I made a best on who they'd boot." Amber said, sheepishly looking around to see everyone's attention on her, especially the other tribe. Victoria found herself blushing horribly and just staring at the ground.

Most of the Pedang tribe looked either annoyed or dumbfounded. However Katrina merely smiled and leaned over to look at Victoria. "What did you guys even bet?"

"Coconuts." Amber lamely replied. Katrina giggled. Otis also found himself chuckling and called over to Victoria. "Sorry for making you lose."

The host decided to address the elephant in the room. "Anybody make any bets on that?" Matthew gestured towards Julio. Amber and the rest of Lembing looked over to see what the host was talking about, and then noticed the large cast Julio now had on his left arm.

"What happened?" Lucas asked.

"Machete cut through my hand," came Julio's monotone reply. He raised his left arm, looking slightly embarrassed. Then, turning to look at Amber and Victoria, Julio donned a small, sad smile. "Coconuts."

Matthew chose to get back to business. "Are you all ready for your next reward challenge?"

The tribes' focus shifted from the awkward banter to the challenge at hand.

"For your challenge today, you will have two people be weight bearers. They will hold onto a rope while standing behind a line. That rope is holding up a giant net that ten feet away from the line. On my go, the six other contestants will run up and try to throw coconuts into the opposing tribe's nets. Once the nets get too heavy, the weight bearer won't be able to hold it up anymore. If the weight bearer drops lets go of the rope and drops the net, or if they cross the line, they're out. Whichever tribe has a net up the longest wins. Do you want to know what you're playing for?"

Matthew walked over to a table with two blankets over it.

"Winning tribe will get a choice between two rewards. You can either have," Matthew pulled one of the covers off, "a snorkel, flippers, twine, a hook, and a Hawaiian sling for fishing." Both tribes looked excited, Ahmed especially so.

"Or," Matthew removed the other blanket, "you can have a hammock, a blanket, a tarp, and two pillows."

A few members on each tribe looked incredibly enthused, while others more so viewed the items with indifference.

"Alright, before we get to player selections, Lembing, you've got one extra person, sitting someone out. Remember, you can't sit someone out in back to back challenges. Which guy will be sitting this one out?"

The tribe discussed briefly before coming to a decision. "We're going to sit Donny out."

"Alright. Tribes, decide how you'll divvy yourselves up, and then we'll get started.

"For Pedang, Marcus and Harper will be holding onto the rope. Nathan and Victoria will be holding the rope for Lembing. Survivors ready? GO!"

The two teams of six raced towards the large pile of coconuts on the far end of the course. Each contestant grabbed two and ran back, sans Julio who could only grab one. Sofia made it back first for Pedang, and threw both of her coconuts, aiming for Nathan's net. Both made it. This was followed by Katrina, who also aimed for Nathan. Meanwhile, Delilah scored two coconuts in Harper's net, and Lucas was able to get one into Marcus's. More contestants got up to the line to throw, and it became clear on what each tribe's goal was.

"Pedang seems to be mainly focusing on filling Nathan's net up first, no coconuts so far in Victoria's net. Lembing seems to be spreading it pretty evenly between Harper and Marcus."

- _5 minutes in_ -

Nathan's net looked to be about a fifth full as Marcus and Harper each had about a tenth of their nets filled. None of the weight bearers looked uncomfortable yet. Nathan looked bored, if anything, and Harper tried to stifle a yawn. As the two teams of six raced back and forth between the line and the coconut pile, there was very little talking going on. That is, until Nathan decided to break the silence.

"Bones, you gotta throw it higher!" Nathan yelled, looking over to where the frail old man was lobbing coconuts. Bones had yet to make a shot, most of his going too low. Bones hurled another one with extra force, and it went just short of making it in.

"C'mon Bones! Here, watch the Park Ranger do it." Sofia ran up, going to sink in another shot to Nathan's net. Nathan waited until the moment before Sofia threw. "Riiiiiight THERE!"

Sofia was startled by Nathan's shout, and it caused her to miss.

As Nathan waited for the next person to come over, Victoria turned to him. "You're not gonna do that for everyone, are you?"

"Depends how bored I get." Nathan responded.

- _10 minutes in_ -

"Nathan, with his net getting pretty full, about two thirds of the way. Harper's is about half full, Marcus has slightly less than half, and Victoria still has an empty net. Pedang seems to be focusing all of their shots on Nathan, while Lembing splits it up, the girls going for Harper and the boys going for Marcus. Those nets are only going to get heavier to hold onto." Matthew observed.

"In the immortal words of Dr. Watson, no shit, Sherlock." Nathan muttered at the host, though Matthew ignored him.

Victoria was keeping her net up with one hand, occasionally looking over to Nathan, who was starting to have a bit of difficulty keeping the net up. On the Pedang side, Marcus and Harper kept their attention on their nets, though neither one was struggling too much.

Katrina ran to put another in Nathan's, but at the last minute switched and threw it into Victoria's.

"Hey, what gives!" Victoria yelled out, caught off guard by having to actually participate in the challenge.

"Wanted to help you feel included." Katrina said as she aimed her other coconut at Nathan's net. As she said that, Otis came up and tossed a coconut at Victoria's net.

"Whoa, come on now, I've already got one, I feel plenty included." Victoria said jokingly.

"By all means, please give her some." Nathan said, grunting as he repositioned his hands on the rope. "Victoria, tell our guys to hurry up, I went from bored to in pain."

Nathan's net was over three fourths full at this point, and the strain was beginning to get to him. For Pedang, Harper's net was about three fourths full, and her arms were also starting to hurt. She grimaced as she tried pulling the rope up a bit.

"Everyone showing impressive displays of strength for the weight bearers." Matthew praised.

Some of the runners were starting to slow down. Terri, Jean, and Bones were jogging at a much slower rate, and Isabella and Otis were walking. Katrina, Martin, and Sofia were all still making good time for Pedang, and Delilah and Amber weren't slowing down in the slightest. Amber made it to the line and threw both of her coconuts, both landing in Harper's net.

"Good job Amber!" Victoria yelled out.

- _15 minutes in_ -

"Where we stand, Nathan is holding onto a full net of coconuts, Pedang has switched their attention to Veronica. Harper nearly has a full net, Marcus's is about three fourths full, and Victoria is about a third full." Matthew looked over the weight bearers. "Nathan and Harper, both looking like they'll drop any second."

"Dunno what you're talking about, I feel great." Nathan said, sweat pouring from his hair, drenching his face. Harper wasn't fairing much better, her arms wobbling terribly as she tried to keep a good hold on her rope. Marcus shifted his weight as he kept his rope tightly clutched between his hands. Victoria still held onto the rope with ease. After a few more seconds, one of the nets finally dropped.

"Nathan, lets go of his rope and is out of the competition." Matthew announced.

Nathan fell to the ground, his arms spread out and limp. He rolled out of the track, getting to the sit out bench with Donny. Just as he got to the bench, another net dropped.

"Harper, quickly follows Nathan out of the challenge."

Harper got up, grumbling as she walked to the Pedang bench.

"It's between Marcus and Victoria now. The construction worker and the student. Who can last longer?"

Lembing was now able to give their complete attention to Marcus, who started receiving coconuts twice as fast. Meanwhile, Victoria was catching up to him in terms of coconut weight. Marcus's was about four fifths full while Victoria's was getting close to three fourths. Both contestants had a taxing challenge in front of them.

Otis looked completely spent, hobbling along, while Julio was also slowing down, and the two combined were getting only half the shots that each of their other tribemates were getting. For Lembing, Isabella was leaning on the coconut pile to catch her breath, and Bones was only barely shuffling along. Marcus tried shifting his hands around, the sweat making them start to slip, while Victoria kept her original hold on the rope, even though both of her arms were cramping.

It wasn't until another five minutes that the third net was dropped.

"Marcus, drops the rope. Lembing, wins reward!" Matthew announced. The tribe all ran towards Victoria, who had fallen on the ground in relief and exhaustion. They picked her up and carried her back to the mat in celebration. Marcus quietly rubbed his temple as he made his way back to his tribe, who gave him pats on the back.

"Lembing, congratulations on you reward win. The first decision you'll make is whether you want to take the fishing gear or the comfort items. I'll give you some time to talk it over." Matthew said once both tribes got back to their mats.

The tribe huddled together.

"Alright, my vote is for fishing gear." Lucas said. "It'll be more beneficial down the road. More meals hopefully."

"I agree. Fishing gear." Delilah said.

"Ok, is everyone good for fishing gear?" Lucas asked. Delilah and Jean both said yes, and before anyone else responded, Lucas turned to address the host. "Matthew, we'd like to take the fishing gear." While Lucas smiled at the host, he seemed unaware of a set of eyes glaring at him.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing tribe): I don't wanna sound full of myself, but I am like, three fourths of the reason we won this shit. And when we go to choose what reward we want, who gets the biggest say? Oh right, the guy who only made like half of his shots. I prolly sound real bitchy right now, but I don't care, that was obnoxious._

"Alright, go ahead and take it once you leave. Before you do, please pick one member of Pedang to go to Exile Island."

Before any of them could discuss, Nathan piped up. "Sofia."

"Alright, Sofia come with me, a boat will arrive to take you to Exile."

Sofia sighed in resignation as she hugged a few of her tribemates before going towards the host. Meanwhile, a few members of Lembing looked more confused and angry than any of the Pedang members. Lucas in particular looked to be fighting the urge to snarl at Nathan.

"Pedang, I've got nothing else for you. Lembing, come and get your rewards. I'll see all of you tomorrow." Matthew said before leaving with Sofia. The two tribes went back to their respective camps.

* * *

- _Exile Island Day 5_ -

Sofia found herself standing next to the large wooden chest on the large patch of sand. She, much like Lucas, found the conditions on exile to be rather insane. "No food, no trees, no clean water... lovely." She quickly skimmed through the note, which had been the same as Lucas's, except there was a slight difference.

"If you choose to look for the idol, you will receive one apple and one glass of clean water. If you don't look for the idol, your provisions will be much more plentiful. Choose wisely. You'll have thirty minutes."

Sofia casually tossed the note back on the chest.

"Looks like I have thirty minutes to wait until I get some food. How to pass the time?"

 _Sofia (Park ranger, Pedang): I don't need an idol. Heck, it might not even be there, Lucas might have it. Besides, I'm hungry, I'll take some food._

As Sofia sat on the sand bank, staring out across the ocean, she thought about the day's events.

 _Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang): I still can't believe Julio cut his hand. I feel guilty about it. I was talking with him while he was chopping coconuts, I might have been distracting him. I mean, I know it's probably silly to beat yourself up about stuff like that, but I can't help it, I feel terrible. I just hope he's able to heal quickly. That cast definitely didn't help matters during the challenge today, and I don't know how much of a hindrance it'll be on future challenges. We'll just have to see how it goes._

As Sofia saw the boat coming in over the horizon, she stretched and laid down on the ground. As she laid down, she felt something jabbing into her back. She moved over and dug up a very unique looking seashell.

"Cool. Might take this home for Sam." Sofia said to herself as she got back to a relaxing position.

* * *

- _Lembing Day 5_ -

Lucas only felt himself getting more and more angry as he walked back into the Lembing campsite with a few canteens' worth of water. He tried calming down, constantly reminding himself that they had won reward, and really he shouldn't be so worked up, but it just wasn't working.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): What the hell was that? Seriously, not even a single second of discussion, Nathan just decides it's Sofia. Screw consulting with the rest of the tribe whether that's a good idea or not. Now I get to be paranoid about whether or not someone on the other tribe has a hidden immunity idol. F(censored)ing kid._

As the tribe settled down at camp, Nathan went off to go to the jungle, but not before Lucas got to him.

"Hey, can we talk real quick?" Lucas asked, though as most things sounded with Lucas, it came out more like a demand than a request. Nathan merely shrugged. "Sure."

The two stayed where they were at, away from camp but still clearly visible and speaking loud enough for anyone paying attention to hear.

"So, can I ask what happened at the end of the challenge today?" Lucas asked, trying to keep a civil tone.

"Victoria held onto a rope longer than Marcus." Nathan answered blankly.

"You know what I'm talking about." Lucas all but growled. Nathan yawned.

"I seem to recall afterwards we were given a choice between two rewards-"

"Quit playing dumb." Lucas interrupted, but Nathan continued, ignoring him.

"-and you got all of two other peoples' opinions before going for the fishing gear. Oh, and the guy who actually won you the reward in the first place got no say in what the reward we got was." Nathan finished his sentence matching the same facial expression that Lucas was currently donning, a scowl.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lucas ran his hands through his hair. "We all discussed the rewards, just like we _should've_ discussed who to send to Exile Island!"

" _We_ didn't discuss jack s(censored)t, you said something and two people agreed. That's not a tribe discussion, so I figured the next decision didn't need to be discussed either." Nathan said, his arms crossing across his chest.

Lucas stood dumbfounded before regaining his composure. "That's the most immature and petty thing I've ever heard."

Nathan's mouth twisted in a sneer. "I'm going to get some fruit."

Nathan turned and walked away, towards the jungle. Lucas stood there for a bit, as if debating on whether there was a point to continuing the fight. He eventually decided there was none and turned to walk back to the shelter. Meanwhile, the other seven Lembing members tried to ignore the commotion that just occurred.

 _Isabella (Student teacher, Lembing): We couldn't even be happy about a win for like, five minutes. Lucas and Nathan immediately had to go at each others' throats. Yeah, Nathan did something stupid again, and yeah, Lucas could've probably waited for some more opinions on the reward. Well, guess what, whining and yelling at each other isn't going to change anything._

Amber walked over to Isabella. "You think he'll be ok?"

Isabella rolled her eyes. "He'll probably be fine, he's just gonna take a few minutes to pout. Hey, do you want to take that fishing gear out for a test drive?"

Amber nodded. "Sure. Do you want to try out the sling or the twine."

"Sling, definitely. Knowing Nathan, he might try to break it one of these days just to spite Lucas, so let's get some use out of it before that happens."

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing): You know, Nathan is a bit of a moron. He does nothing around camp except run around in the jungle, and half the time he gets fruit. On the flip side, Lucas is an ass, and he does nothing around camp except for boss other people to do things. So when the two get in an argument, you don't pick a side. You just wait for them to tire themselves out._

As the two women went out to test out the fishing equipment, Nathan found some company out in the jungle.

"Hello Nathan." Bones greeted, sipping from a chopped coconut.

"Hey old timer." Nathan responded, still feeling a bit riled up. The history professor looked at the young man with a bored expression.

"Now, now, if you're going to go to all of that trouble and start a scene, you better follow it up with something more energetic than a simple _'Hey.'_ "

Nathan sighed. "That was really dumb of me, huh?"

"The yelling, the taking almost complete credit for the challenge win, or the selecting of Sofia for Exile without waiting for anyone to talk about it?" Bones asked in a deadpan manner.

"All three, I guess." Nathan said, looking down at the ground, his face showing a mix of anger and embarrassment.

"I'd be tempted to agree, it was far from smart." Bones nodded. He walked over and found a log to sit on. He patted the space next to him, and Nathan reluctantly joined him on the log.

"I just got so pissed off after the challenge. It's like, Lucas just doesn't even think about what other people want. He just says things and expects people to go along with them." Nathan vented.

"What makes you think that?" Bones asked.

"I don't know. It seems like he's never really doing anything around camp and is usually telling other people what to do. Not to mention he's on my case 24/7."

"I see." Bones said, looking at a pair of birds that had flown to a nearby branch. "Nathan, when you pulled that little stunt today, what were you hoping to achieve?"

Nathan frowned at the sudden topic change. "I just wanted to show Lucas how much of an ass he was being."

"Do you think Lucas is actually considering changing because of it?" Bones asked.

"Uh... probably not?" Nathan said uncertainly, wondering where this conversation was going.

"Precisely. Repeating the follies of another is no way to try and help them. There's an old saying, fight fire with fire." Bones said, talking as if he were giving a lecture.

"Yeah I've heard that saying." Nathan piped up.

"Well forget it, it's a stupid saying. Fighting fire with fire is ineffective, it just leads to more fire. Use water, that's what firefighters use, for crying out loud."

Nathan gave the old man a confused look.

"So... what am I supposed to do?"

Bones got up off of the log, and offered a hand to Nathan. "Calm down, resist the urge of stupidity, and don't sink to Lucas's level."

Nathan sighed before accepting Bones hand and getting up off of the log. "Alright."

The two walked back to camp as the sun began to set.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing): I still don't like Lucas, I still think he's an ass, but Bones is right. I just gotta deal with it. I can't go yelling at him all the time, it won't help anything. I'm glad he came to talk to me._

 _Bones (History teacher, Lembing): That's far from the best advice I've given, but hopefully he takes to it well. I made sure not to tell him that he shouldn't dislike Lucas or try to make amends with him, just stay calm and continue hating him. After all, if those two patch things up, I'm certain to find myself back at the bottom of the proverbial totem pole. I enjoy the boy, but I won't risk a million dollars to teach him to make friends._

* * *

- _Pedang Tribe Morning 6_ -

Terri watched as Otis got done carrying a load of firewood back to camp. He lumbered over to the shelter and plopped himself down. She had been waiting for an opportunity to talk to him, as she had recently come up with a plan and wanted to set it into motion.

 _Terri (Grocery store manager, Pedang): The way I see it, this is the best time to get rid of Julio. Everyone respects him, nobody has a problem with him, and once that hand of his heals up there'll be no good reason to get rid of him. I still want him out though, because I know he'll be coming after me once Otis is gone. So I'm going to strike first._

Terri walked up to the shelter. "Hey Otis, mind if we talk about something?"

Otis slowly got up into a sitting position. "Sure, what do you need, Terri?"

"I just wanted to talk about what might happen if we go to tribal council again." Terri said, standing opposite him with her arms crossed.

Otis nodded. "Alright. By the way, I don't think I ever thanked you for not voting me out."

Terri smiled. "It was my pleasure. I didn't think it was your time to go then, and I still don't think it is now."

Otis scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's got to be somebody's time, and if not mine, whose would you say it is?"

"Julio." Terri said, deciding not to beat around the bush.

"Oh... any reason why?" Otis asked. Terri stared at him blankly for a beat before picking up two rocks.

"Because if I threw these at him, he wouldn't be able to catch both of them."

"You mean throw them _to_ him, right?" Otis asked. Terri dropped the rocks on the sand, feeling a bit exasperated.

"Yes. So, would you be good for voting Julio?"

Otis shrugged his shoulders. "If it's the difference between me going or not, sure, I'll vote for him."

"Alright." Terri ended the conversation, and went off to go get some fruit from the jungle. Otis watched her go before laying back down.

 _Otis (Postal worker, Pedang): I might have a bit of a shot if we go back to tribal. It sounds like Terri is pushing for a Julio vote out. I'm not sure if it'll work, but it's probably my best chance. I also don't know why she asked if I wanted to talk, I barely got much of a word in, but oh well. Hopefully none of this has to happen and we can just go in and win an immunity._

Terri's next target for putting her plan into motion was Katrina, who was walking to go get tree mail.

"Hey Katrina, do you have a minute?"

Katrina shrugged, slowing down so Terri could catch up. "Sure, do you need help with something?"

"I was just wondering if I could talk to you about next tribal council." Terri said.

"Not much to say about it, we'll win immunity and avoid it." Katrina said, already not fond of where the conversation was headed.

"I'm just thinking, maybe we should start thinking now about who we could afford to cut off." Terri said, adamant about getting to talk about votes.

"Alright, fine. I think Otis might be the right decision." Katrina said. Truth be told, she had put in some thought about it, and to her it seemed like the logical decision.

"Why Otis?" Terri asked, doing little to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"He's weak in challenges. Not much else to it, nothing personal." Katrina said casually.

"I see. Well, I think we should vote Julio."

"Because of the arm?" Katrina asked.

"Yes. I think he'll be a bigger hindrance in challenges than Otis." Terri said, consciously leaving out her real reason for wanting Julio gone.

"He seemed to be throwing at a faster rate than Otis yesterday." Katrina said.

"How many challenges are we just going to be running around on. We're going to need people who can use both hands." Terri replied curtly.

"Julio's hand will get better, Otis's health won't." Katrina said, a bit miffed that Terri seemed to ignore Katrina's thoughts on the matter.

"How soon, though? I still think Julio is the better choice. I'll let you think it over a bit, but I'm telling you, you need to vote Julio. He's got to go." Terri said before trudging off, leaving Katrina standing on the pathway.

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang tribe): Oh lovely, annoying strategies are back. We just... can't go a few days without someone bombarding me with strategy talk, can we? (Katrina rubbed her temples.) Can I just... go to the other tribe? They seem so much more relaxed._

Katrina walked over to tree mail, trying to forget about the random talk she and Terri had, and found a note sitting next to a fairly large rock.

"You've got to be quick, you can't afford to be slow, fail to make it up, you may be the next to go. Climb mountains and hills, go through the gates, over knolls, win the challenge, rock and roll."

* * *

- _Immunity challenge Day 6_ -

"Survivors come on in!"

The two tribes walked single file to their respective mats. They were set at the bottom of a steep incline, and they could see the host standing in the middle of giant rocks.

"Now bring in Sofia from Exile."

Sofia walked in to her tribe, who greeted her with a group hug.

"Sofia, how was Exile?" Matthew asked. Sofia shrugged her shoulders in a relaxed manner.

"It was what it was, pretty fun actually."

From Lembing, Lucas was listening very intently to what Sofia had to say.

"Fun, huh? Find anything over there?" Matthew inquired.

"I found a cute little souvenir, yeah." Sofia said. Lucas's eyes bulged.

"Well, let's get to today's challenge. First thing's first, I'll take it back from Lembing." Matthew walked over and took the immunity statue back from Victoria. "Here's how the challenge will go."

"On my go, six people from each tribe will push a boulder uphill. While going up the hill, you will run into three gates, each held up by two ropes. This is where the other two castaways will come in. Each gate will have a puzzle on each side. Solving the puzzle will unlock a knife which each puzzle solver will use to cut the rope. Once the ropes are cut, the gate will fall to the side, and the people pushing the boulder can continue. Puzzle solvers can't start to work on the next puzzle until the boulder is completely through the last one. First tribe to get their boulder past the finish line at the top of the hill wins. Everyone understand?"

Matthew was met with various sounds of affirmation.

"Before we pick players, Lembing, you'll have to sit someone out, know that you can't sit out Donny again."

"I'll sit out." Isabella said immediately, walking over to the sit out bench.

"Alright, pick out who will do what and let's get this thing started."

"For Pedang, Terri and Otis working on puzzles. For Lembing, Jean and Bones. Survivors ready? Go!"

The two teams of six raced to the boulders, slowly pushing them forward with great effort at the start of the incline. The two pairs of puzzle solvers raced ahead to the first gate station. The four got to work, diligently working on the first puzzle, which was a slide puzzle. All of them quickly slid pieces around, Otis looking slightly confused and Terri fairing only marginally better. As they worked on the puzzles, the two teams of six were fairly even going up to the gate, Lembing pulling a bit ahead. The brown tribe was only ten feet away as Jean managed to slide the piece containing her knife out. She gingerly plucked the knife out and chopped through the rope on her side. Half of the gate fell down.

As Lembing's boulder reached the gate, Bones managed to retrieve his knife as well. He sawed through the rope, and soon the other half of the gate collapsed. Jean and Bones waited patiently as Lembing began to roll their rock through the gate. As Lembing was halfway through, Terri was able to get her knife and chop her rope. Pedang got to the gate, but had to wait for Otis to get his knife. Otis frantically shoved pieces around until he finally got his knife. He chopped the rope, opening the rest of the gate. As Pedang began to move their boulder again, Lembing was fully through and Jean and Bones were already at the next gate.

The next puzzle was a key attached to the end of long rope tied into various knots. The knife was locked in a chest off to the side. Jean ripped through the knots, wasting no time in sliding the key along. Bones was going at bit slower rate, struggling to pull apart some of the coils but still making good time. Pedang got their boulder through the gate and Terri and Otis were on their way to the second gate while Lembing already had their boulder halfway there.

"Lembing has a slight lead, but these puzzles can make all the difference." Matthew said.

Jean managed to get her knots undone as Terri got to the puzzle station. She quickly got the key to the chest and unlocked it, retrieving her knife and cutting the rope.

"Jean, flying through these puzzles. Really putting in work for her tribe."

The Lembing tribe still had a nice lead on Pedang, but stopped in front of their gate, still waiting on Bones, who was in the middle of trying to pull at a particularly tight knot. They had a good grip on the boulder, and though some were sweating profusely and looked quite tired, it didn't look at risk of falling back down. The same could not be said for Pedang's, which looked at risk of leaning over any second. The main struggle was coming from Julio on the side, who was trying desperately to make use of both arms, but the pressure was causing his injured arm even more pain.

Bones managed to get through the last knot while Terri was three fourths of the way through and Otis was a third of the way done. He quickly unlocked his chest and sliced through the rope. The second half of the gate fell, and Lembing was able to push forward. Terri furiously ripped at the knots, trying like mad to catch up. She finally got through the last one, and unlocked the chest. While this was happening, Otis was about two thirds the way done, and Lembing was fully through the second gate, meaning Jean and Bones were able to rush to the final gate. The third gate's puzzle was a number solving puzzle with a combination lock to the chest.

As Jean quickly read over the problem and did the math in her head, Bones looked at it and laughed to himself. "I'd say I wish I was a mathematician, but I'd never wish that on myself."

Pedang waited at the second gate impatiently while Otis struggled with the last few knots. As they waited, Julio took his arm away from the boulder to try and rest it, but as he did so, the boulder leaned his way and he couldn't hold it back in time to catch it. The boulder rolled away from the group and ended up going back downhill. The six raced down to the bottom of the hill, and struggled to make it back to the second gate, where Otis had finally gotten done with the rope and had the chest unlocked.

"Big setback for Pedang, Otis and Terri will have to wait until they get back up." Matthew narrated.

As the Pedang boulder slowly made its way up, Jean had managed to crack the number code and unlock her chest. She slashed through the rope with ease. Bones, meanwhile, was having a slightly more difficult time. Pedang got through the first gate as Bones finally gave it a go on the combination lock, and to his surprise, he managed to get it. He grabbed the knife from the chest and hacked at it until it cut through.

"The final gate is open for Lembing. They just have to not lose control of the boulder, and they are on their way to victory."

As the Pedang tribe made it through the second gate, Lembing made their way through the third gate and past the finish line.

"LEMBING WINS IMMUNITY!" Matthew yelled. Pedang let their boulder roll back down the hill as the Lembing tribe celebrated at the top.

As the two tribes congregated back at the bottom, Matthew returned the statue to the brown tribe.

"Lembing, good job reclaiming immunity. The night is yours to do with as you please. Have fun." The Lembing tribe jollily made their way back to camp.

"Pedang, once again I'll see you tonight at tribal council. Head on out." The Pedang tribe dejectedly made their way back to camp.

* * *

- _Lembing Day 6_ -

Lucas had a single mission when he got back to camp. While the rest of the tribe celebrated the immunity win by taking it easy, he quickly made his way over to the shelter, where he found Jean and Victoria casually chatting.

"Jean, mind if we talk? Privately?" He asked.

"I suppose." Jean said wearily, slowly getting up out of the shelter while Victoria gave a curious look at him. The two walked a ways out towards the beach. As soon as Lucas was by himself, he decided to unload a secret he had been keeping.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): I had been keeping the idol thing a secret because I didn't want anyone else to know it was there. I figure the less people who know about it, the better. But... I think it's gone. Now I have to plan around someone else having it, and I think that'd go smoother if more people knew about it. So I'm going to try to tell some certain people individually in order to try to cement a sort of trust. First person I'm telling is Jean, because she is by and far the best competitor on this tribe. I'd love to have her as an ally._

"So on Exile island, there's a hidden immunity idol." Lucas said, going right to the point. "It has the power to cancel votes before they're read at tribal council. It's basically a get out of jail free card."

"Oh wow." Jean said, visibly shocked. "Did you find it?"

"No." Lucas replied. "I didn't get very far, there were a bunch of riddles to solve to try and find it, and I could barely get through the first one." He didn't want to tell her that he had forgone looking for it to get some food and shelter, figuring that would look poor on his character.

"So it's still out there, then?" Jean asked.

"Maybe... maybe not. I think Sofia might have found it."

"She... did say she found a souven- oh she has it." Jean said, sounding almost as sure as Lucas was. Lucas smiled and nodded.

"That's what I thought. So, I think, come merge, our first priority has to be getting rid of that idol."

"Definitely." Jean said.

"Alright. Until then, I just wanted to say that you're the only person I've told about it, and I want you to trust me to have your back til merge." Lucas said, anxious to make a deal. Jean was a bit taken aback by the sudden direction change of the conversation, but did well to hide her surprise.

"Sure thing." She affirmed, extending her hand. Lucas shook it, and after a little more talking the two went their separate ways. Jean found the situation funny.

 _Jean (Nurse, Lembing tribe): In the last two days, I've been offered two different alliances. One that would include me, Victoria, Donny, and Delilah, and then another that's between me and Lucas. Between the two, I certainly like the former more, and that has everything to do with quality and quantity of people. However, I'm not going to dissuade Lucas from giving me more information any time soon._

As Jean got back to the shelter, she saw Victoria waiting for her.

"What was that all about?" Victoria asked.

"Wait til you get a load of this." Jean said with a smirk.

* * *

- _Pedang Evening 6_ -

Sofia made her way out to the trees. She went out to find some papayas for a pre-vote meal.

 _Sofia (Park ranger, Pedang tribe): I'm getting really sick of losing. That's three challenges in a row we've lost. I'm not overly competitive, but this has started to take a toll on me. If all goes well, we can have a unanimous tribe decision and boot Otis._

As Sofia found a tree carrying quite a few papayas on it, she heard someone from behind her.

"We need to talk." Katrina told her friend. Katrina had been wanting to talk to Sofia ever since her chat with Terri that morning.

"What do you want to talk about, Kat?" Sofia said, reaching up to pick some of the low hanging fruit.

"Who do you think we should get rid of tonight?" Katrina asked.

"Otis, definitely. He's really dragging us down in challenges." Sofia said.

"See, that's what I thought, but Terri said the vote is going to Julio."

Sofia looked at Katrina, a bit shocked. "When did that change?"

Katrina sneered. "When Terri decided it this morning before the challenge."

Before Sofia could ask more, they heard another person walk towards them.

"Hey girls, how's it going?" Ahmed asked casually as he got to the pair.

"Not bad, we're just discussing who to vote. Any suggestions?" Sofia inquired.

"I hate to say it, but Otis hasn't been doing too well in challenges, and if we want to avoid going to tribal council again, I think we boot him now." Ahmed said, trying not to say anything too disrespectful of Otis. He got along well with everyone in the tribe, and he was one of the few people Otis talked to the most.

"Have you talked to Terri?" Katrina asked. Ahmed gave a confused look.

"No, why?" He asked.

"Apparently Terri is gunning for Julio." Sofia said.

Ahmed's expression changed from one of confusion to annoyance. "She's still on that?"

"Yeah, and she's getting kind of pushy about it. She came up to me today and strong armed me into helping her." Katrina said, clearly pissed about the conversation from earlier. "Honestly, she's gotten to be kind of a bitch, recently."

Ahmed, dropping his annoyed demeanor, tried to defend Terri. "She's just gotten paranoid about Julio wanting to get rid of her after what he said at the last tribal."

This did little to quell Katrina's attitude. "How the heck is she even getting that Julio would vote for her? He voted for Otis last time, he's bound to do it again."

Ahmed shrugged his shoulders. Sofia, meanwhile, handed each of them a papaya. "I'll go talk to her, see if I can get her to change her mind. I really do think Otis is the weaker between the two of them."

"I'll join, if that's alright." Ahmed said.

Katrina shook her head as the two went off.

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang tribe): At this point, I'm getting pissed. Why should I have to listen to Terri? Yeah she voted with me last time, but we've barely talked. I'm not going to let anyone try to play my game for me, whether it be a scrawny little cartoonist or an overly aggressive manager._

As Katrina ate her papaya, she saw Harper walk up to her.

"Heya Kat, I don't mean to bug ya, but I was wonderin' if'n you could tell me who you're votin' for?" Harper asked, trying not to sound too forward.

"Right now... I think I've got a person in mind." Katrina said through a mouthful of fruit.

As the two talked, Terri was chatting with Marcus.

"I'd really like for you and Harper to vote with Otis, Katrina, and myself and boot Julio out." Terri said, trying to e a little bit more gentle with the construction worker. Though he and Harper hadn't taken the last vote too personally, she didn't want to push her luck by flat out telling them who to vote for.

"You're sure they're both voting with you?" Marcus asked.

"Yes, we went over the plan earlier today." Terri said.

"Well, I'd have to talk to Harper about it." Marcus said, still trying to keep up the charade that he was strategically dependent on the ranch hand.

"Sure, yeah. By the way, have you talked with Julio any recently?" Terri asked.

"Not really. The only thing we talked about today was his hand was aching pretty bad after the challenge. If you're wondering who he's voting for, best bet is he'll go Otis again."

Terri nodded. She was about to bring up something else, but then she noticed Ahmed and Sofia walking her way.

"Hey Terri," Sofia said, "I think we should discuss tonight's vote."

"I couldn't agree more." Terri said, not noticing as Marcus snuck out of the conversation.

"I've heard you're wanting to vote for Julio?" Sofia asked.

"Yes. I think he's the weakest member of the tribe." Terri said bluntly.

"Any other reason?" Sofia asked. Ahmed went to say something to Terri, but Terri responded first.

"No other reason, I just want to keep the tribe strong." Terri replied, still wanting to keep her true motive out of it.

"Ok. Is there any way I could talk you out of voting for Julio?"

Terri nodded assertively. "I'm not going to budge on this."

Sofia sighed. "Alright."

Before Sofia left, she mentioned what Ahmed had told her. "This isn't about Julio's comments at the last tribal?"

Terri was a bit surprised by the remark, but figured there was no reason to lie now. "I'm also concerned about that, yeah. I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of someone who has me so publicly low on their totem pole."

"I understand." Sofia said, and left.

 _Ahmed (Bank teller, Pedang tribe): I really wanted to tell Terri that she should just tell the truth, and that sticking with this Julio vote wouldn't do her any favors. At the same time, though, I don't feel like getting into another pointless argument right before tribal. I'll just vote for Otis, and whether he or Julio go, oh well. I'm not really closer with anyone over anyone else at this point._

As the trio split off, it was almost time to pack up and head for tribal council. Right before everyone departed, Marcus and Harper met.

"So, what news have you got?" Harper asked.

"Apparently Katrina, Otis, and Terri are voting for Julio, and Terri wants us to do the same." Marcus answered. "How about from you?"

Harper scrunched her eyebrows. "Wait, you said Katrina?"

Marcus nodded. "You hear something different?"

Harper told Marcus what Katrina had told her, and Marcus rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, that certainly paints a different picture. So we have three options on the table now."

"Yup," Harper agreed, "and the cherry on top is, I think that whoever we vote out is gonna be the one goin'."

Marcus thought of the various ways the vote could go. "It would seem so. Certainly is nice having someone have your back, isn't it?"

Harper put her arm around Marcus's shoulder. "You bet. So, Otis, Julio, or Terri? Who to choose?"

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang tribe): I think this vote really is in me n' Marcus's hands. We've got a vote split between three people, and from the sounds of it, we got two people voting one way, and at least two other people voting two separate ways. Then there's us two in the middle. Sweet deal, if you ask me._

 _Marcus (Construction worker, Pedang tribe): I know Terri is voting for Julio, and I'm pretty sure Julio and Otis are voting for each other. Harper says Katrina is voting for Terri, and it didn't sound like Sofia was too keen on voting for Julio just now. I don't know if I'm as confident as Harper in thinking we control the vote, but I definitely think that we're going to be a major contribution as to who stays and who goes. There are certainly perks to just being the nice guy everyone talks to._

* * *

- _Tribal Council Night 6_ -

The eight members of Pedang made their way to Tribal Council, illuminated on the dark shore of the beach by the near full moon and the light of their torches. As they made their way up the steps and into the council area, they saw only eight small tree stumps waiting there for them, instead of the nine from last time.

Matthew sat in his usual spot, on the opposite side of the fire from them. The eight castaways put their torches in their places and sat down.

"Nice to see you again, Pedang, though you probably won't say the same to me." Matthew joked, and a few gave small chuckles. He got straight to business. "Julio, how's the arm doing?"

Julio smiled slightly. "It is what it is. It's been acting up a bit lately, what with the machete going through it yesterday and all, and now it's been aching a bit, but besides that it's fine."

A few tribe members laughed at how nonchalant Julio acted. Matthew looked over to Sofia. "Do you buy that?" To his surprise, Sofia nodded.

"Julio isn't the kind of guy to let stuff like this get to him." Sofia said.

"Stuff like getting a machete through the hand?" Matthew asked, incredulous.

"Matt," Ahmed interrupted, "you could hit him in the head with a coconut and he'd walk it off as if you just smacked him lightly." He pulled Julio in to a small side-hug.

"Marcus," Matt turned his attention to the construction worker, "last council there was a bit of talk about tribe strength. Do you think it'll play a factor tonight?"

"I think quite a few votes might be based on that credential, but I wouldn't say that's the only reason to vote tonight." Marcus said.

"Harper, what other reasons could there be?"

"I think tryin' to get everyone in the tribe on the same page. There might be someone causin' some problems, and they might need to go before it gets any worse." Harper said.

"Matthew, I disagree." Ahmed interrupted yet again. "I believe we need to focus on tribe strength now more than ever. If we don't focus on it now, we'll end up returning here again and again."

Matthew decided to switch it up and address the tribe as a whole. "Does anyone here think they might be in trouble tonight?"

Both Julio and Otis raised their hands.

"Julio, what's your defense for why you should stay?"

"I don't think I'm the weakest person on the tribe. If you were to ask me, I'd say it's Otis. I'm with Ahmed, let's vote based on who we consider the weakest link."

Before Matthew could comment, Otis piped up.

"I agree with the sentiment, but I believe I'm stronger than Julio right now. I'm not getting any younger, but I think an injury of that scale is going to be more of a setback than my age."

Matthew looked to Julio. "What have you got to say to that?"

"I can respect it," said Julio.

Matthew decided to ask one last question. "Sofia, what are your thoughts?"

"I think that, whatever happens tonight, we all better be ready to deal with it tomorrow, because this vote is going to have an impact on us for the rest of the game." Sofia said.

"With that, it's time to vote. Harper, you're first."

Harper went up to vote, and scribbled Terri's name, putting an XOXO at the end.

Terry XOXO

"Three days ago you n' me were on the same page. Then you screwed up. Remember that as you're walkin' out o' here."

Julio voted.

Marcus voted.

Terri went up and wrote in all capital letters.

JULIO

"As soon as I found out I was on your hit list, you went to the top of mine. Sorry about your hand, not sorry about this vote."

Otis voted.

Ahmed cast his vote.

Otis

"It's nothing personal, this just needs to happen for the good of the tribe. I apologize."

Katrina gingerly picked up the pen and put the same hearts by Terri's name that she had used for Tim.

Terri 3

"I really oughta start calling tribal council the Tylenol station, because so far this is where I go to get rid of headaches."

Sofia cast the final vote.

?

"Oh the things that go on while I'm away. Nothing personal, this is for the good of the tribe."

As soon as Sofia got back, Matthew went to collect the urn. He brought it back.

"Once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out will have to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

He pulled out Ahmed's parchment first.

"First vote, Otis."

Otis didn't really react, he expected a vote or two.

"Second vote, Otis."

He merely nodded. Nobody in the tribe looked too surprised.

"Third vote, Julio."

Julio shrugged apathetically.

"Fourth vote... Terri."

Otis, Julio, Ahmed, and especially Terri were caught off guard by the vote. Each reacted differently, but they were all surprised.

"Fifth vote, Terri. That's two votes Terri, two votes Otis, one vote Julio."

Terri's mouth was agape as she looked around, trying to spot out who the rogue votes for her were. Her eyes stopped on Harper, who was looking directly at her. Harper smiled sweetly as she flashed Terri the peace sign. Terri glowered at her and Marcus, who was ignoring everyone and looking into the fire.

"Next vote, Julio."

Julio cocked an eyebrow. He was getting very surprised by the direction this tribal council was going.

"The way things are now, we have two votes for Julio, two votes for Otis, two votes for Terri, two votes left."

All three anxiously awaited the next vote.

"... Terri."

Terri's face scrunched up in anger, not even bothering to look around as she recognized the heart on it.

"That's three votes Terri, two votes Otis, two votes Julio, one vote left. If this vote is for either Otis or Julio, we'll go to a revote." Matthew said, grabbing the last parchment.

Nearly everyone was on the edge of their seat, nobody really knowing where the vote was going to go. Nobody, except for Sofia.

"Eighth vote and second person voted out from Survivor: Maldives, Terri. Grab your torch."

"Oh my God." Terri muttered in disbelief as she went back to grab her torch. A few people tried to give her a fare well hug or handshake, but she ignored all of them. She walked up to the host indignantly.

"Terri, the tribe has spoken."

Matthew extinguished Terri's torch, and she walked out without a word. The tribe watched her leave with a mix of confusion and, in some cases, relief.

"You're down to seven people now, and if you want to avoid losing more, you better hope this was the right decision. Pack your stuff, head back to camp."

The tribe departed.

* * *

 _Next time on Survivor..._

 _"It's not looking too good."_

 _At Pedang, Julio's wound is only getting worse, for both him and the tribe._

 _Ahmed: He hasn't been able to do anything today, it's concerning._

 _At Lembing, a secret slips and Lucas finds himself in hot water._

 _Lucas: If anyone even suspects me of having an idol, I might as well pack my bags._

* * *

Votes:

For Terri- Sofia, Katrina, Marcus, Harper

For Otis- Ahmed, Julio

For Julio- Terri, Otis


	3. I Got Faith

_Previously on... Survivor!_

 _After the blindside of Tim on Pedang, Harper and Terri came to blows over Terri going back on her word to vote with Harper._

 _"You said you were gonna vote with us." Harper continued._

 _"Yes." Terri said indignantly._

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang): Welp, good-bye to any trust I had in her._

 _At Lembing, the tribe had several relationships forming, and in the middle of quite a few was Jean, who made an alliance with Delilah, Donny, and Victoria, and a separate one with Lucas, from whom she learned about the idol. On top of that, Bones managed to solidify bonds with younger tribe members Amber and Nathan._

 _Disaster struck Pedang as Julio injured his hand while chopping coconuts, which greatly impacted his performance in the upcoming challenges, and helped them lose the next immunity challenge._

 _"Big setback for Pedang!" Matthew yelled. "LEMBING WINS IMMUNITY!"_

 _Before tribal, Terri tried to pull votes to get rid of Julio, despite more people opting for an Otis vote. Her constant strategizing got on the nerves of her tribemates, and was eventually what led to her demise._

 _"Eighth vote and second person voted out from Survivor: Maldives, Terri. Grab your torch."_

 _16 are left, who'll be voted out next?_

* * *

 _Pedang tribe -Night 6-_

The tribe lugged their torches back into camp, none of them feeling all that energized. Well, none except for one.

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang tribe): I swear, there has been no down side to tribal council for me so far. We go there once, we get rid of the guy who annoyed me. We go there again, and we get rid of the woman who annoyed EVERYONE. It's such a good feeling, knowing that all your nuisances are just a vote away from being gone._

Inside the shelter, Ahmed made his way over to Otis, who was laying at the end of the shelter. "Hey man, just came by to say I'm sorry for voting for you."

Otis, who was about to fall asleep, turned to look at the middle age man. "It's alright, Ahmed. You weren't the only one, and it's not the first time I've gotten votes."

Ahmed gave the older gentleman a sad smile. "Still, though. I just didn't want there to be any animosity between the two of us."

"Do you have any towards me?" Otis asked.

"No." Ahmed said sincerely.

"Then we're good." Otis said, and closed his eyes as he tried to fall back asleep.

 _Otis (Postal worker, Pedang): It's certainly an odd feeling, coming away from what felt like certain doom twice. I thought I knew I was going home after the first tribal, but I survived. I had slightly more hope that I was going to be on the right side of the votes again last night, but then the wool was pulled over my eyes and the only person who voted with me was voted out. Even when I manage to get past tribal, I just never get out feeling happy._

As a majority of the tribe hunkered down to sleep, two tribe members moved a little away from camp to talk.

"Thanks for helping save me tonight, Sofia." Julio said, shaking hands with the park ranger. "I never would have suspected Terri was gunning for me so hard."

"No problem. I still don't know if it was the right move booting her instead of Otis. We basically just lost the only person on our tribe who was good with puzzles." Sofia lamented.

"Well, I can't say I don't see where your thought process was. Terri was definitely someone who could've caused more trouble the longer she stayed." Julio said, trying to be supportive of the Terri vote despite not having taken part in it.

Sofia appreciated the gesture, but still felt uneasy. "We're going to have to fight like hell for an actual immunity win."

Julio nodded. "I feel like we're gonna win this next challenge."

Sofia looked incredibly skeptical. "Really?"

"Either I believe it or I get votes again. And seeing how I can never quite seem to vote Otis out, I don't much like my chances." With a small grin, Julio went back to the shelter, leaving Sofia to ponder her game.

 _Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang tribe): I have three allies at this point. Ahmed, Julio, and Katrina. Two of them voted for Otis, and honestly, I should have, too. Out tribe isn't getting any stronger, and I just willingly kept the weakest person out here, again. I wanted Terri out because she wanted my ally out, but looking out for my alliance instead of my tribe might end up costing us._

Sofia joined her ever dwindling tribe in their sturdy shelter.

 _Lembing -Day 7-_

The sun rose on the beaches of Maldives, reaching across the relatively calm, crystal clear waters of Maldives and reaching the edge of the Lembing tribe. It poured over a plethora of empty coconuts and cluttered bundles of wood and fronds. Eventually, it reached the rather shoddily made shelter with 7 people sleeping in it.

Isabella looked back at her slumbering tribe before following her friend to the inner parts of the jungle.

 _Isabella (Student teacher, Lembing tribe): I haven't really felt any big connection to anyone on the tribe, besides maybe Nathan. Everyone likes sleeping in, and then when they wake up it's right to work or right to hanging out. It's like, dude! We're on an island! See some sights, walk around, take some time and enjoy it!_

Isabella and Nathan walked towards their usual spot. As Nathan climbed up a tree, Isabella offered some words of encouragement. "Last time you got three pineapples, this time I wanna see three times as many!"

Nathan paused in his ascent. "Seriously?"

"C'mon, you know I hate sharing. Mama wants her own pineapple." Isabella called up with a laugh.

"I don't care what Jean wants, she can pluck em herself." Nathan yelled back down overdramatically. Just about the entire tribe had heard about Victoria calling Jean mom, and to both of their chagrin, the nickname was starting to stick.

"We certainly do have a rather weird family on our little island." Isabella said, watching as Nathan finally got to the top. "We got Mama Jean, Grandpa Bones, the twins Amber and Victoria..."

"They really got chummy pretty quick, yeah." Nathan added as he casually dropped two pineapples.

"How many you got up there still?" Isabella asked.

"One more, then this tree is tapped." Nathan answered.

"Let's see, one for me, one for you, the twins can split one, the lovebirds can split one..."

"Who're the lovebirds?" Nathan asked as he shimmied his way back down.

"Donny and Delilah." Isabella answered flatly as she picked up the fruit.

"I mean, I've seen em hanging around and stuff, but like, lovebirds?" Nathan asked incredulously.

"Eh, give it time." Isabella smirked. "So, that leaves one pineapple left. Who to give it to... how about everyone's favorite taskmaster, Lucas?"

Nathan couldn't help but scrunch his face in displeasure at Lucas being brought up. The two just had no good blood between them.

"Yeah, how about no. Let's just bring these suckers back to camp and we'll let everyone distribute them equally."

"Fine, be a buzzkill." Isabella joked as the pair headed back to camp.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing tribe): Isabella is a really fun person when you get to know her, but she's not too talkative around camp, which is kinda a bummer, because I feel like she'd be a good fit with some of the other dudes we got, but oh well. I still wouldn't have anyone else to go fruit shoppin' with early in the morning._

As the pair made their way back, another pair had gotten up and out in the early hours of the morning. Delilah and Jean had both planned to talk strategy that morning, and saw it as a golden opportunity as everyone else was either out collecting food or sleeping. As the pair made their way down the beach towards the shoreline, Jean brought up the first topic.

"So," Jean began, "who would we want to wrangle in as a fifth vote?"

"Did you have anyone in mind?" Delilah asked.

"Well, I know Victoria and Amber have been spending time together lately, so having Amber as a fifth might help to solidify Victoria's loyalty." Jean suggested. In truth, she also wanted Amber in because she felt that, if the five managed to make it far, Amber would side with Victoria and Jean over Delilah and Donny. However, Delilah had a similar idea about someone else.

"I see what you're thinking there, but if Amber and Victoria are already so close, it would be pointless to add Amber into the alliance. We could just get Victoria to convince her to vote for someone anyway. I think if we add someone, it should be somebody we don't have much direct control over as of right now." Delilah explained.

Jean didn't know if she was impressed or bemused by Delilah's thought process. It was clear she already had a person picked out in her mind.

"Who would that be?" Jean asked expectantly.

"I'm thinking Lucas." Delilah said, already mentally preparing to give a lengthy explanation as to why.

"Why Lucas?" Jean asked.

Delilah tried to explain her side. "He has a lot of potential use. He's a good shield for the alliance due to the fact that he's very loud and very openly controlling. Also, if we give him the right words, I think he's the kind of guy who could get paranoid and easily cling to us for safety."

Jean nodded with approval. "I suppose that makes sense." She wasn't as happy with the idea of bringing in Lucas, but she could still use it to her advantage. "If you want, I can try to talk to him."

Delilah felt like objecting, but decided it was a relatively harmless request. "Sure, if you'd like to."

 _Delilah (Pharmacist, Lembing Tribe): I like working with Jean and I think she's incredibly smart, but I feel like it was a bit obvious as to why she wanted Amber in the alliance. Amber is close with Victoria, and Victoria almost always goes to Jean with anything she thinks or hears. That means in the alliance of five, Jean has two people who are loyal to her, and one person who is loyal to me. I'd like a bit more even playing ground, and I'm pretty sure Lucas doesn't have any real big bonds with Jean._

Later in the day, Jean was in yet another strategy related conversation, this time in the jungle with a different alliance-mate.

"So Delilah wanted to start an alliance with me, Donny, and Victoria. The alliance didn't feel whole to me, so we both agreed on wanting you as a fifth.." Jean said, making sure to leave out that her first choice had been Amber.

Lucas, who had been taken away from trying to figure out with Donny how to redesign their rather sloppy shelter, took the information in. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"No problem. So, are you alright with working with all of them?" She asked.

"Of yeah, of course. Thanks for having my back and bringing me in, Jean, this is great. We've got a majority alliance in the tribe!" Lucas exclaimed. He was ecstatic. He had been hoping to try to find a way to wrangle up enough people for this sort of outcome, but he had been having trouble finding times to try to talk to his tribemates one-on-one.

"So," Lucas said, his mood shifting from one of excitement to a bit more reserved and serious, "how much should our alliance know about the idol?"

Jean smiled. "Well, I don't see us losing another reward challenge anytime soon, so as long as we keep sending the same person from Pedang over to Exile, that'll keep the amount of people who know about the idol to a minimum. I think just keeping the idol information to ourselves will work to our advantage."

Lucas grinned. "Sounds good."

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): I was originally a bit fearful I had thrown too much faith onto Jean, but it really seems to be paying off in spades right now. Not only has she been really faithful in keeping the information about the idol to herself, but she even managed to get me into a majority alliance on the tribe. This is, by far, the best time for me in the game._

 _Jean (Nurse, Lembing tribe): I've got an alliance with Lucas, I've got a bigger alliance with Delilah, Donny, Victoria, and Lucas, and on top of that I've got fairly good bonds with just about everyone on the tribe. On top of that, I've got info on a hidden immunity idol from Lucas, and I've given that information to Victoria in order to strengthen my bond with her. To top it all off, our tribe has won both immunities so far, and we've still got two relatively easy boot options between Bones and Isabella. I don't really foresee anything going on in the near future that I can't handle._

* * *

 _Pedang -Day 7-_

As the sun lazily lowered westward, Pedang found itself in the daily grind of trying to find food and keeping their home tidy and happy. Everyone was at a job, either searching for food, collecting water, collecting and organizing firewood.

Per usual, the two workhorses of the tribe were Otis and Julio. Otis was carrying in large loads of firewood from the trees, only once in a while stopping to take a break, while Julio preoccupied himself by trying to find even more modifications for the shelter, as well as tidying up the campsite of coconut husks. He was going at his work much slower, and rubbed at his cast every now and again.

Marcus, meanwhile, was in the middle of getting some rice cooked. It was his favorite job on the island so far.

 _Marcus (Construction worker): I think my role as cook pays off in a lot of ways. It's not so physically demanding that I ever get tired, so if something ever needs doing around camp, I've got the muscles and the energy to help out. It doesn't require me going off anywhere, and the fire is in the middle of camp, so I've got a good view of everyone's comings and goings._

As Marcus stirred the boiling water, he paid special attention to both Otis and Julio. He smiled as Otis brought in a huge load of sticks, plopping them down and then leaning over them and panting.

 _Marcus (Construction worker): Otis and Julio are both in the same boat, and I think they've been stuck in it since day one. They're the two oldest guys out here, they haven't been the best in challenges, so they make up for it by working hard around camp. For a while, it seemed pretty clear that Julio was above Otis on the totem pole, and if we had to get rid of one of the worker bees, it'd be the camp grandpa. After that injury though... I dunno._

Otis walked over to Marcus as he stretched his arms and back.

"Lunch ready yet?" He inquired, his gaze going straight toward the rice mush currently stewing around in the pot.

"Nearly there. Take a load off, Otis, you've been working since you got up this morning. It's nearly noon." Marcus said, pointing at his wrist as if to try and indicate it really was 12 o' clock.

"Eh, I'll take a rest when I can get some food in me. I can still probably go and get another batch of wood in." Otis said, already turning back to go to the woods.

"Suit yourself, just don't go killing yourself over some twigs." Marcus called after him.

As Otis made his way back into the jungle, Marcus shook his head as he tested some of the rice.

"Well I'll be damned, it was done after all." He smirked.

Meanwhile, out further into the woods, Harper was watching Katrina climb up a tall tree with machete in hand. There weren't as many coconuts growing around the campsite, as what little there had been had already been gobbled up by the tribe of hungry Pedangs, so now the duo had gone further in to try and find some more, or any other sources of food. This had been the only tree they were able to find in an hour and a half of searching.

"Careful up there, if you hurt yurself, you'll have tah be on bed rest for the rest o' the day, and I'll have to do all the work." Harper yelled up at the artist.

"You know, you're not really giving me any incentive to be careful!" Katrina replied, finally getting up to the top.

"Actually, never mind. If Julio can work on the shelter with one arm, you're not getting out of fruit duty no matter what you do." Harper joked.

"Aw, you're right. I wouldn't even be able to say I'd get the first coconut related injury." Katrina said in mock sadness.

Harper giggled. "I don' know if he'd 'preciate us making jokes about that."

Amber gave the comment some thought as she started chopping at the few coconuts hanging in the tree.

"Well, seeing as we're getting his food, I think he'd find it in his heart to forgive us pretty quickly." She yelled back down. "Speaking of, watch your head."

As some coconuts came hurtling down, Harper stood out of reach as she contemplated her friendship with her spunky tribe mate.

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang tribe): I think Katrina is a really fun girl. She's funny, she's pretty upbeat, and she's cute... not that that matter er nothin', but it's a plus in my book all the same. Anyway, she's a good teammate tah have. I think keepin' her in good with me an' Marcus would be a real fine deal for me down the road._

As Katrina made her way back down, Harper had already picked some of the coconuts up. As Katrina did the same, Harper steered the conversation in a different direction.

"Hey, uh, thanks again for stickin' with yer word last night."

"Hm? Oh yeah, sure. No problem." Katrina replied nonchalantly.

"Right, right. So, I was wonderin' if maybe you-" Harper started, hoping to try to talk strategy and get an alliance going.

"I'm going to stop you right there." Katrina said, her tone suddenly going a bit more serious. "If you bring up an offer about some kind of alliance or anything like that, the answer is no."

Harper and Katrina looked at each other, Harper caught of guard and Katrina looking rather annoyed.

"Uh, no, no, we don' need tah talk about that... uh, forget I said anythin'." Harper backtracked. She blushed slightly and went back to picking up coconuts.

Katrina sighed. "No, I'm sorry for snapping, it's just... I'd like to go a day without anyone bringing up any strategy bullsh*t."

"Fair, uh, fair 'nuff. I 'pologize for puttin' a damper on the mood." Harper said, hoping she hadn't sullied any progress she was making with Katrina.

"It's alright, let's just get back to camp." Katrina said.

 _Katrina (Artist, Pedang tribe): I think Harper is a sweet girl, and she's definitely the first person to bring up strategy to me that I didn't want to immediately strangle. However, I don't want to have to run the risk of getting annoyed with her, too, if she decides to start going on and on about votes and alliances 24/7._

As the two were heading back to camp, there was still one more conversation going on further along the beach, quite a ways away from camp.

"So there's a hidden immunity idol on exile island?" Ahmed asked.

Sofia nodded. "Yeah, it's hidden on one of the little sand piles or something, but I didn't go and look for it. My money is on Lucas having already found it, but hey, you never know."

Ahmed shrugged. "I don't trust anyone who wears a suit to an island, and I'd bet there are quite a few people on Lembing who have the same thought process, so I'm sure he would've tried to save his skin."

"Well put." Sofia smirked. "So, do you want to talk about the vote last night?"

Ahmed stuck his tongue out. "No thank you, ma'am. The vote went down how it went down, why talk about it when we haven't even seen how it'll impact us yet. Besides, if we start talking about votes too much, we might end up looking like the new Terri twins or something."

 _Sofia (Park Ranger, pedang tribe): There's a good reason I picked the allies I have, and that's that none of them are too strategically focussed. Katrina? She doesn't even think we're in an alliance, but she and I are still tight, and I can rely on her to at least hear me out if I ask her to do something. Julio? He's a worker bee, and he doesn't really have time to think up ideas, he's too busy doing odd jobs around camp, so he's someone I can use. Finally, there's Ahmed, who is probably the person I trust the most on this tribe. I've had plenty of good, personal and strategic conversations with him, and he's never lied to me... that I know of._

"So what did you want to talk about?" Sofia asked.

"Well, we've got some cameras pointed at us, and we're the only two openly gay people on this tribe I think, how about a good old coming-out talk? I'm sure people at home will eat that up." Ahmed said before flashing a big grin at the camera. Sofia rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Oh alright, I suppose we can talk about something else." Ahmed said, this time shrugging to the camera. "So, what do you think Sam is up to right now?"

Sofia perked up at her girlfriend's name being brought up. "I'd guess she's probably at work or something. Well, I guess it's Sunday, so she's probably just lazing around home with our cat, Mushu. How about you, what do you think your hubby is up to?"

Ahmed grinned as he thought back to his husband. Truth be told, for the last day or two he'd had his family on his mind. He never went out much, and was a bit more a home-body type of guy, so this being the first full week he'd spent away from them had been taking a slight toll.

"Oh, he probably took the little ones to church. He might've left Celia at home, I know she hasn't really been feeling that gung ho about going lately. I'm sure Terrence and her had a rather expressive discussion about it." He said, laying down and imagining the scenario going down at home.

Sofia smiled at Ahmed. "Are you and Terrence big church guys?"

"Well, he's the deacon there, so he has to go, and I think it's fun every now and again to go over, hear some stories, chat with folks, let the little ones run off some steam at the playground next door, you know how it is." Ahmed said.

"Sure. I've just never heard of a gay deacon before. I mean, I know not all churches are all, y'know, Westboro-y, but still..." Sofia trailed off.

"Well, I'm glad we were able to land in a non-Westboro-y town. Terrence's parents were really easy going when he came out, and the community in general had very little misgivings about it. In fact, when he became deacon, a lot of them even threw him a little surprise party on the night before his first sermon. It was really sweet." Ahmed recalled.

"Aw, that's awesome." Sofia said. She looked like she was about to say something else, but decided to say quiet. The two friends stayed on the beach a while longer, enjoying the view and reminiscing about life back home before they decided it was getting late and they should head back.

 _Ahmed (Bank Teller, Pedang tribe): I enjoy talking with people about our personal lives. It helps me clear my mind a bit, it allows me the chance to get to gush over my family a bit more. While it also helps with building relationships with my tribemates, which is necessary, there really is no greater stress relief than being able to just talk openly and freely with those around you. It's a wonderful thing._

* * *

 _Lembing -Day 8-_

The Lembing camp was in its usual shakedown on the 8th day. The fruit finders woke up early to go exploring and foraging, and soon after everyone else woke at varying times. Donny and Delilah went to work collecting bamboo and wood for possible modifications for the shelter, Amber and Bones went out to collect firewood, and Victoria and Jean stayed at camp to tend to the fire and get some rice cooking. Lucas, as always, stood around camp supervising everything going on.

As Lucas went over to the shelter to see what sort of improvements could be made to the giant jumbled mess, Jean watched him walk out of ear shot before turning her attention to the young student sitting beside her.

"Vicky, we need to talk." Jean said. Victoria shifted her attention from the rice to Jean, slightly concerned over the serious tone of the older woman's voice.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I think we need to discuss what's going to happen after this next reward challenge." Jean said, turning away from the fire to face Victoria.

"For the exile choice thing?" Victoria asked.

"Yes, I think we need to make sure we're all on the same page for this upcoming choice. Since there's a hidden immunity idol out there I think we need to make sure we're putting quite a bit of thought into our choice for who goes." Jean explained. Victoria listened attentively as she waited for Jean to go on.

"So, when we win again, I think it would be best to continue to send Sofia. She might have already gotten the idol the first time she went, but if not, she'll probably get it if we send her again."

"Wouldn't we want to switch around who we send so we don't run the risk of someone getting too much time out there?" Victoria asked, confused.

"Well, if we send a variety of people to exile, that's a bigger number of people who could have gotten the idol out there, and when we merge, it'll be hard to know which one of them to vote for. If we just send one person over and over, it'll mean there's only one person we have to worry about finding it." Jean said.

Victoria looked like she wanted to interject, but decided to stay quiet. However, Jean could tell that she had something to say.

"I'd like to hear your thought process on it. It's important to try and think of this through multiple angles." Jean said.

"Well, what if Sofia gets the idol, and then she could still give it out to any of her tribemates during the merge. Then, it's definitely on the Pedang side, and we still have no idea who it'll be played for." Victoria said.

"I'm not sure if someone would willingly give up their idol so quickly." Jean said, though she have to admit, that wasn't an avenue she had thought too much about.

"If you feel like it's the better decision, I'm totally on board with sending Sofia again. Are we going to talk with more of the tribe about it?" Victoria asked.

"If you could try to find some way to convince Amber, I'd appreciate it. I'll handle talking to Lucas and some of the others." Jean said with a warm smile. "Thanks for helping me with this, Vicky."

Victoria smiled in return. "No problem, Mama Jean."

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing tribe): The first few days out here were a lot more relaxing, a lot more calm. I helped make a shelter, I helped get water from time to time, that was it. We've been winning challenges, I've found a few people that I enjoy hanging out with... so why am I feeling more stressed out? It seems like the more I talk with Jean, the more and more it's always focused on strategy. Don't get me wrong, I understand why it's necessary, but it just sort of puts me on edge._

Victoria went back to cooking up the rice as Jean walked off to go talk with Lucas. While that happened, Amber and Bones walked back into camp. Victoria grinned up at the two as they walked to the fire to dump the wood they collected.

"Hey Amber, you wanna go on a water run?" Victoria asked innocently.

"Don't we already have like, half of the canteens still filled from two days ago?" Amber asked.

"Well yeah, but I'm bored and I feel like doing something besides sitting on my ass and stirring rice around." Victoria said, trying to give Amber sad puppy-dog eyes. Bones found the entire ordeal rather humorous.

"Oh don't shake off an invitation to be social, go and talk with your gal pal." Bones said. As Victoria stood up, Bones sat down to take her spot. "Besides the point, my old joints have been nagging at me for a rest for the past hour. I'll greatly accept any job that involves doing nothing except for sitting on my ass, as you put it." Bones chuckled. Amber smiled at him before agreeing to go off with Victoria.

The two grabbed some empty containers that production had given them for storing water, and went off to the well. It was thankfully pretty close, and it didn't take the two long before they got there. As Amber started filling up the first container, Victoria decided now would be a good time to bring up Jean's plan.

"So, what are your thoughts for the upcoming reward challenge?" Victoria asked.

"I don't know, what do you think?" Amber said.

"I guess I hope we win." Victoria said, feeling a bit awkward.

Amber paused to give it some thought.

"Yeah, same. Good talk."

Victoria couldn't help but laugh at her own ineptitude at trying to steer the conversation into being one of strategy. Amber looked up.

"Hopefully it's at least a little bit fun. Heck, the last reward was pretty fun. Well, for me anyway."

Victoria stifled her laughter to answer. "Yeah, I'll bet it was for you. Meanwhile my poor arms were aching the entire time you guys got to leisurely throw around coconuts."

Amber giggled. "Well, I appreciate your effort. And hey, it couldn't have been all bad, you got to show off those guns for all the world to see and kick everyone else's ass."

Victoria smirked. "Oh yeah, because that's the reason I left college to be here, just to show off these bad boys." Victoria flexed her arms, which Amber took great notice of. She gave a little whistle, causing Victoria to blush.

"I uh, I didn't want to just talk about that... I mean, I didn't mean to make that a conversation."

"So, was there anything you wanted to talk about besides the reward challenge coming up?" Amber asked.

"Uh... no, not really. I just wanted to hang out, I guess." Victoria said.

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing tribe): I'm not really big into the whole talking strategy thing, and at the time, it was sort of like... why ruin a perfectly nice conversation by going into "exile island picks" and "hidden immunity idols"? One of the main reasons I find it so nice to talk to Amber is because she's one of the few people on the tribe that is sort of mellow and relaxed. It's really refreshing out here_.

Amber finished up filling the container. "Well, let's get back to camp and see if Donny and Dee need any help with the shelter. Unless there was something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Nope, I'm good." Victoria said, and the two made their way back towards the camp.

Meanwhile, another two people were already making their way into camp. Nathan had managed to find some more mangos out a ways into the jungle, and now both he and Isabella were carrying tiny bundles of them back to Lembing. They dropped them in a pile by the firewood, which Bones was sitting on while he stirred the rice.

"Back from the market, I see. Splendid job as always, you two." Bones congratulated. "Now, if you two wouldn't mind, I believe the rice is just about ready, so if you could let the tribe know that it's dinner time, that'd be lovely."

"Sure thing, old timer." Nathan said, stretching his arms. Isabella went over to the shelter to go tell Donny and Delilah. Nathan looked around, and then turned back to Bones. "Uh, one thing I was wodnerin'. D'you know where Lucas is?"

Bones scrunched his eyebrows in thought. "If memory serves, he went to go talk with Jean down by the beach a ways out East." Bones pointed down the shoreline. Sure enough, Nathan could make out the two talking in the distance.

"Thanks Bones. I'll go tell em soup's on." Nathan said as he dashed off. Bones reacted with his usual bemusement at the young boy's mannerisms.

Lucas took in what Jean had to say. "That sounds like a good plan, but yeah, Victoria has a point. What if Sofia just gives it to someone else on the tribe?"

Jean went to reply, but she saw someone coming up behind Lucas. "Nathan is coming, we'll talk about it later."

Lucas turned around, carefully concealing his annoyance at the conversation being interrupted. Nathan jogged up to the two, panting slightly.

"Lunch time, guys. We've got mangos and rice." He said.

"Alright, thank you Nathan." Lucas said cordially before turning back to Jean, expecting Nathan to leave.

"Actually, Lucas, is it alright if we talk? Like, guy to guy." Nathan asked. He saw both Jean and Lucas look a little irked. "Sorry if you guys were having a big conversation, I was just uh..."

"Sure thing, I'll leave you two alone." Jean said, walking back to camp.

Lucas sighed, expecting another argument to come from this. "What is it Nathan?" He asked curtly.

"I just wanted to say... I'm sorry." Nathan said. Lucas raised an eyebrow. Nathan expected him to say something, but when a rather awkward pause followed, he decided to continue.

"I'm sorry for the past few days' worth of arguin'. We've had our disagreements on how things have been goin' around camp, and while I still believe in what I've been sayin', I feel like I've been acting way to rash and way too immature about it. So I'd like to apologize for all of that, and I hope we can try to start with a clean slate."

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing tribe): After my talk with Lucas a few days back, I realized that I'm not doin' myself any favors by being negative about Lucas 24/7. So I decided I should try and work things out with him. I still don't really like him, but I don't want there to be as much tension between us as there is right now._

Nathan looked at Lucas, generally curious as to what the lawyer's reaction would be. Lucas sighed, and merely put out his hand. Nathan gratefully accepted the gesture and shook it.

"I'm glad you came up to me and apologized. I suppose I also haven't been as... understanding of your viewpoints, either. So for that, I'll also say sorry." Lucas said. "Hopefully from here on out, we can work a little more cohesively."

"Sounds good, dude." Nathan replied. The two talked a little while longer before heading back to camp.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): I'm not entirely sure that Nathan's apology was genuine. I strongly believe that he's just trying to get me to lower my guard. I'll definitely keep my eye on him for the time being, but for now, being publicly on better terms with him can't do any harm._

As the two got back to camp, the tribe got ready to dig in to a feast of fruit and rice. However, Nathan noticed there were only eight people huddled around their fire. "Where's Isa?"

"Oh, she went to go look for treemail." Donny said as he took a bite of mango. No later had he said that than Isabella came back into the campsite.

"So, what's the challenge looking like today?" Lucas asked.

"Unless someone in production forgot to get it to us today, it doesn't look like we got anything in treemail." Isabella replied.

The tribe looked around in confusion.

* * *

 _Pedang -Day 8-_

"No treemail?" Ahmed asked. Katrina has just gone out to get Pedang's mail as well, and much like with Lembing, there seemed to be nothing for them t pick up.

"Do you think the challenge is going to be some sort of surprise? Like, we don't even get a hint about it?" Sofia asked.

"Either that," Marcus said, as the tribe sat around their fire, having just gotten done with a meal of fried coconut chunks, "or we might just not have a reward challenge."

"Well that's a bummer." Katrina said. "I was really looking forward to finally kicking Lembing's butt at something."

"Looks like we might have tah wait til tomorrow fer that." Harper said.

"Darn, I almost regret having us get all the work done early today now." Julio said. The tribe had gotten into a routine. If there was a challenge going on today, get all of the chores and cleaning done right away early in the morning. However, now that there wasn't a challenge, the tribe had a lack of things to do.

"Hmm, we could just go out and get some extra fruit. Never hurts to have too much." Otis suggested.

"True, but that won't take very long to get." Ahmed mused. "What's something else we could do today?"

The tribe all sat and thought about a gameplan for the day when finally, Katrina thought of something.

"I've got an idea. We haven't really gone out too far into the woods yet, because we've had a lot of coconut trees just hanging around or close by our camp, and the well is pretty close. So, since we're on a deserted island, let's just go out exploring. See if there's anything else for us on our little home away from home."

The seven all looked around. The consensus was made as everyone shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" Ahmed said, standing up. "Sounds like fun."

The group went off, bringing a few canteens of water in case they were out longer than expected. As they hiked through the woods, they got on the subject of their lives back home.

"So, who wants to play 'I Spy'?" Sophia asked.

"How about no." Marcus said, smirking at Sophia's suggestion.

"I don't see why not." Katrina chimed in. "I'll start. I spy with my little eye-"

"A tree." Otis said flatly.

"Ah, it speaks!" Ahmed yelled, eliciting a few chuckles from the group.

"Oh come now, this isn't the first time I've talked." Otis said, feeling a bit defensive.

"True, but it might be the first time you've said something non-work related." Marcus piped up.

"Well I'm sorry I spoke up. Somebody notify me if we come across any chores to do." Otis said, trying to sound like he was joking but coming off slightly upset.

"Oh come on, we're just yanking your chain. At least you're talking more than Julio right now." Sophia said.

"Hm? Someone say something?" Julio asked. He had been leading the pack, and had been focussed on looking around and trying to find paths for easier walking.

"Julio, come on, this is family bonding time, join in." Ahmed chastised.

Julio looked back at the group and smiled. As he walked back, he tripped and hit his bad arm on a nearby tree. Swearing, he made his way to the tribe, which was currently hanging out underneath some brush. Harper found a fallen log and sat on it, inviting a few others to do the same. Katrina sat on one side of her, Marcus sat down on her other side, and Otis sat next to him. Sophia sat herself down on the ground, Ahmed leaned on a tree trunk, and Julio just stood opposite of the four sitting on the tree. They were arranged in a bit of a weird circle, but everyone felt comfortable, and soon general conversations were occurring.

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang tribe): Y'know, with how we were sittin', I dunno why we didn't just sit around the fire back at camp. But hey, we were able to get the workhorses tah sit around with us and just relax, so I s'pose that's somethin'. We ended up talkin' bout everybody's lives back home. I mean, I feel like I already know more about Ahmed than about half mah cousins, and we even got some talkin' out of Otis and Julio, which is a miracle. I was honestly under the belief that them two were built in some sort o' factory that made worker robots or somethin'._

"So what's the weirdest thing you've had to edit?" Katrina asked Julio. The conversation had turned to everyone's jobs.

"Well, there was this one time back in my first few days, it was around Thanksgiving. We had this local parade, sort of like the Macy's Day Parade, but with just some local groups building little floats, like the high school's student council, the 4H kids, the ELCA people, stuff like that. So, one of the floats was the local church's, and they had Jesus holding a bottle of wine, they had a teenager portraying Jesus. He was the pastor's kid." Julio said.

"It was just a teenager holding a bottle of wine?" Ahmed asked.

"Yeah, the church was never one to go all out for this sort of thing. Then the float behind them had the high school football team, it was decorated to look like a field goal and what not, you get the idea. Well, at some point during the parade, the football team's float rammed into the back of the church one. So the kid dressed like Jesus got mad, and he chucked the bottle of wine at the football team."

"What?" Marcus asked, looking dumbfounded. Katrina and Harper were both laughing.

"Yeah, he just threw it right into the middle of them. That got one of the linebackers pissed, and so he rushed onto the church float and sacked the kid right there in the middle of the parade. The two got into it, they had to get the rest of the team and some adults to break it up, it was all anyone was talking about for the rest of the parade. So, we have to do a cover story for the parade the next day, and what do you think the reporter got a picture of?"

"Jesus gettin' the snot beat out o' him?" Harper suggested.

"The linebacker getting Jesus mid-tackle. Of course that was the one photo the reporter sent us to work with. So along with writing a general story for the parade, we also have to make a caption for that picture, and after mulling around, we went with my suggestion, which is the one headline I'm the most proud of in my 12 years working for the paper."

Julio motioned with his hands as if he were reading off the headline. "Jesus goes for Hail Mary, gets sacked. High School team 7, Word of God 0."

The tribe was awash with either laughter or groans from the lackluster punchline to the story. As Julio found himself laughing at the memory, he unintentionally started picking at his cast. Sophia noticed right away.

"That thing bugging you?" She asked.

"Well, I'm just hoping I can get it taken off some time soon. Hard to work for the paper if your writing hand is covered in five pounds of dirty cloth and gauze."

After that, the tribe continued sharing more stories from back home.

 _Julio (Newspaper editor, Pedang tribe): I think our little hike did wonders for tribe unity and morale. The main problem the first few days is we were all so cooped up in ourselves and so hesitant to share our thoughts and stories. Now, though, not anymore. We're a stronger, more collected force, and I'm happy to have this feeling within the tribe. No more scheming, no more crazy votes, no more throwing around names. This tribe is untied now, we're a family now, and we're not breaking or splintering for anything._

* * *

 _Lembing -Day 9-_

The sun rose for the ninth time for Lembing, spreading over the rather calm campsite. Once again, Nathan and Isabella were off on their own to gossip about the camp and collect food. Most people were in the shelter sleeping, but another pair had managed to wake up fairly early for once and went out into the jungle to go talk.

"So Bones, have a good night's sleep?" Amber asked.

"Oh lovely, I believe my spine has finally twisted itself to fit the floor of the shelter." Bones said dryly as he stretched his arms.

"Glad I can always count on you to be a bright ray of sunshine." Amber said. As the pair continued on the trail, Amber decided to make the conversation a bit more serious. "Bones, have you talked with a lot of people on the tribe?"

"I believe I've spoken a sufficient amount of the tribe." Bones said offhandedly.

"Like, about more than just rice and the weather." Amber said snidely.

Bones stopped walking to give the mechanic a curious glance. "Where's all of this coming from?"

"Well, I've gotten to thinking lately... I've been talking with you and Vicky a lot, but besides you two, I haven't been as talkative. I mean, it's not like I've been ignoring people, it just seems like this tribe has kind of been cliquey." Amber looked down. "I've just been worried that if end up losing immunity, if I've made myself a big enough part of the tribe to stick around."

"I wouldn't think not being a blabbermouth is a justifiable reason for your elimination." Bones chuckled, but noticed Amber's somber attitude. He put an arm around her shoulders. "Now now, it won't do to get all wrapped up in your own head about such a trivial concern. Let's just relax and think this through. You're a wonderful competitor, you're a good enough worker around camp, and you've done nothing to anger anyone on the tribe. I can't say the same thing for everyone on this tribe."

Amber sighed, smiling. "I'm starting to feel a little bit scatterbrained, I think."

"Nobody is here to judge or blame you, Amber. We've got little food, little sleep, and little room for privacy. If you ask me, that leaves room to be a 'little bit scatterbrained'."

Amber gave the history professor a hug. "Thanks Bones."

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing tribe): Bones is definitely an odd little cookie, but underneath all of his goofy mannerisms and his really weird and fancy speech, he's just a down to Earth kind of guy. He's a smart, caring guy, and I'm glad I've got him to talk to._

Bones awkwardly returned the hug. As they broke, they continued their walk to the Lembing treemail, where unlike the previous day, there was something to find.

 _Pedang Day 9_

"For today's challenge, it's all about breaks,

get through at all costs, we're raising the stakes.

Hope you like running, get clothes that won't chafe,

tribal is coming, only one is safe."

"I can't wait to meet whoever writes these little challenge clues." Katrina said as the tribe gathered around the fire.

"Why's that?" Harper asked.

"So I can tell them personally that they might want to look for a new job." Katrina spat, throwing the plaque in the fire.

Julio gathered everyone in a huddle. "Ok guys, immunity challenge on the line, this is make or break for us. We need to get in there and win."

The tribe smiled and cheered, and then settled down as Julio continued. "I promise you guys, if it takes all of my might, I will not hinder us like I did in the last challenge. We'll get through this, and we'll finally get an immunity win under our belt. Then, after we come back home, I'll personally get a victory feast going."

The tribe cheered again. Julio put his cast-adorned arm into the middle, and motioned for everyone to put one of their hands in as well.

"Pedang on three. One, two three."

"PEDANG!"

As the group split off to go get ready for the challenge, Ahmed caught up with Julio.

"Hey man, is your arm doing alright?" He asked, pointing to Julio's injured appendage.

"Yeah, it's been aching a bit today, but nothing too serious." Julio said, brushing off the concern.

"I just noticed it looked like you were having trouble earlier today, carrying some of the wood for the fire and just getting up out of the shelter."

"I'm fine, Ahmed." Julio replied, his tone indicating the conversation was over. Ahmed watched his tribemate and friend walk away.

 _Ahmed (Bank Teller, Pedang tribe): Julio is a great guy, and he's the farthest thing from a wimp I know. He nearly lops off his hand with a machete and he just powers on through. Still, he hasn't been doing so well lately. I noticed him picking at it yesterday, and he hasn't been able to do anything today. It's concerning. I just hope he's able to keep up the energy for the challenge today, and then maybe he can at least get it checked out afterwards._

 _Immunity challenge_

The stage for the next challenge was set. Two different courses were set up, each with the same obstacles. About ten yards behind the course was a slightly smaller course, with seven unfinished ladders leaning on a raised platform. Matthew stood in front of the course and next to a table with items hidden under a blanket as Lembing walked in. As they got to their brown mat, Pedang walked in, giving the bigger tribe a look as to who the latest casualty had been.

"Lembing, getting your first look at the new Pedang tribe, Terri voted out at the last tribal council."

The Lembings all had fairly surprised reactions to say the least. As the Pedangs got to their mat, Katrina looked over at the other tribe. "So, who won this bet?"

Victoria groaned at the reference, but her friend had a slightly different reaction.

"Well, you're still here, so looks like I lose." Amber jeered.

"Sweet, I can feel even happier about staying now." Katrina replied cheekily.

The host smiled at the exchange, and then got right down to business. "Who's ready for a challenge?"

The two tribes cheered, both trying to get energized for the task ahead.

"Here's how it'll work. On my go, each tribe will have to get through four obstacles. First you'll crawl under a giant net. After that, you'll have to try to break through a wooden wall using a battering ram. Once everyone gets through there, you'll have to scale an eight foot wall. Finally, your tribe will have to go into a muddy pit and collect seven bags of puzzle pieces. The first tribe to collect all seven puzzle pieces and cross the finish line wins reward. You wanna know what you're playing for?"

Both tribes again reacted positively.

"First thing's first, Lembing, I'll need the immunity idol back."

Nathan walked forward and handed it to Matthew.

"Now, as some of you might have guessed, this isn't just a reward challenge." Matthew started.

"It's also an immunity challenge."

"Oh dang, two for one?" Nathan asked, feeling a bit let down that there wasn't going to be two challenges after all.

"An apt choice of words, Nathan." Matthew grinned. "Because by the end of the night two people will be voted out from Survivor Maldives."

There was a shocked silence following the statement, eventually broken by Julio delivering a weak "What?"

Matthew elaborated. "Today is a tribal reward challenge, like always, but there will be no tribal immunity given out. Both tribes will each attend tribal council tonight and vote someone out. However, there still is a chance to save yourself."

Matt put the tribal idol away as he uncovered the items on the table. There sat a rather large necklace with white moons sitting in red and green squares, and a giant pink rose sitting at the center.

"If your tribe wins reward, you'll receive the leftover choice from the last reward, so pillows, blankets, a tarp, and two hammocks for your camp, and on top of that, the opportunity to compete for individual immunity. It's the only thing that can keep you safe at tonight's tribal council. As always, the winning tribe will also send someone from the losing tribe to exile island."

"Well that hardly seems fair." Sofia piped up.

Matthew was taken out of his spiel by the interruption. "What's unfair about it?"

"That hardly gives anyone time to look for the idol, if it's still even there." Sofia stated.

While Pedang seemed to mirror or ignore the sentiment, Lembing had a much more intrigued reaction.

"What's she talking about?" Nathan asked.

"There's an idol on exile?" Isabella questioned.

"That's news to me." Amber said. Victoria gave Amber a confused glance, but Amber winked at her.

"Well I'll be, and I didn't think you had it in you to keep a secret with the way your mouth works, old sport." Bones gave Lucas a pat on the back. Lucas meanwhile looked like he either wanted to kill someone or die, perhaps both.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): Damn Sofia. In hindsight, I don't know how long I expected the information about the idol to be a secret, but now that it's out, and I'm not the one who let it out, I'm in trouble. I'm just glad I've got this alliance now, but even then, I wonder how much trust they have in me at this point. If anyone even suspects that I have the idol, I might as well pack my bags._

"They'll have plenty of time to look for it before they're picked up and dropped off directly to tribal council." Matthew said. "However, that'll certainly be a major setback for whoever is chosen, so you'll want to make sure your tribe doesn't lose this reward challenge. Either that, or you'll really be wanting to look for that hidden immunity idol. Now, before we start the challenge, Lembing has two extra members, they're going to need to sit two people out. One thing to note, the two people who sit out will have no chance in competing for individual immunity. Also keep in mind you can't sit people out in back to back challenges, Isabella will perform in today's challenge. Who's it going to be?"

Lembing huddled together to discuss things, and very quickly came up with an answer.

"It's going to me and Bones." Jean announced, though Bones looked less than thrilled.

"Alright, you two will have no chance at being immune tonight. Take a seat, we'll get things rolling."

The tribes got in place for that start of the challenge.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

Both tribes rushed forward. Marcus lifted up the end of the net for Pedang while Nathan did the same for Lembing as the other six on each tribe started their crawl under it. Marcus and Otis brought up the back of the pack once everyone was under for Pedang, Nathan and Isabella were in the same position for Lembing.

"Both tribes are about even going through the net crawl." Matthew narrated as the contestants continued crawling.

Katrina and Sofia were the first to emerge from the net from Pedang, and that was quickly followed by Delilah and Donny from Lembing getting through. Both pairs stood at the exit holding up the rope for an easier escape. Soon most of the castaways were managing to get out. Isabella and Nathan were able to get out slightly before Otis and Marcus.

"Lembing is through obstacle one, can now move on to the battering ram section."

As Lembing situated themselves on the battering ram, Otis and Marcus were able to get through the net as well.

"Pedang, you're good to go."

Lembing had arranged for most of the stronger tribe mates to be in the back, leaving the weaker members up front, while Pedang opted to put the weaker tribemates in the middle. The two tribes made their way to the wall and began bashing at it. Lembing had a good rhythm going, but couldn't get the battering ram to get too high on impact, causing a lot of damage near the ground but not much else. Meanwhile, Pedang was having quite a bit more success on their hits, and were getting a sizeable hole in the wall.

"Pedang, nearly through the wall, Lembing struggling a bit on this section!"

Amber stopped to switch with Lucas, and Lembing was able to get the ram a bit higher, but Pedang managed to get one good heave in and smashed a big enough gap for the tribe to get through.

"Pedang is onto the wall, for the first time since Day 2, Pedang is actually leading in a challenge."

Marcus got to the base of the wall and got down on his hands and knees, providing a great stepping stool for the others to get up. Sofia was the first up and over, followed by Harper, and the two stood at the top to help more members of their tribe ascend.

As Pedang was quickly getting people up and over, Lembing managed to smash their way through the wall and get to their own wall.

"Lembing has made it to the wall, they still have some catching up to do."

Nathan rushed forward and lunged up, grabbing the edge of the wall and pulling himself up. He stopped at the top to try to help the others up as they attempted to do the same. Donny was able to get to the edge as well and pull himself up, and the two started pulling in one at a time, starting with Victoria.

Meanwhile, Pedang had just gotten Otis over the wall, and now were in the process of trying to pull Marcus over, a task easier said than done.

"Anyone's game as both tribes seem to be having difficulty with the wall."

Lembing managed to get Victoria, Amber, and Delilah up and over as Pedang managed to finally get Marcus over.

"Pedang, now past the wall and making their way to the final obstacle. Lembing needs to pick it up if they want a shot at reward and individual immunity!"

Pedang made their way to the last section of the course, a giant pile of mud. All seven tribemates got down to the ground and began to dig, looking frantically for the bags of puzzle pieces. Meanwhile, Lembing had gotten Lucas over and was in the process of getting Isabella over. As Isabella cleared the wall, Katrina and Sofia both found a bag of puzzle pieces and set it on their tribe's table.

"Lembing, on to the final section of the challenge, Pedang has only found 2 bags so far. This will be a close finish!"

Nathan leaped into the mud, shoveling it here and there with all of his might as he looked around. The rest of the tribe followed suit, also trying their best to find anything. Nathan quickly came up with one, followed by Donny. Harper also found one, maintaining a slight lead for Pedang.

"Pedang leads, three to two, Lembing closing the gap."

Pedang continued to search, slowing down slightly but still going strong. Otis was the only one stopping to take a breather, and Julio was furiously digging with only one arm, but besides that the tribe had a good rhythm going and soon found two more bags, courtesy of Sofia and Marcus. Meanwhile, Lembing was slowing down much faster, Nathan having worn himself out to the point where he was huffing and panting just moving minimal amounts of mud, and Isabella and Victoria also were quickly running out of energy. Amber and Delilah found two more bags for Lembing.

"Five to four bags Pedang, neither tribe giving up! Reward and possible immunity on the line, and you do not want to go to exile right before a tribal council!"

As the tribes continued digging, Lembing managed to catch up as Amber managed to retrieve yet another bag.

"The tribes are tied, five to five!"

For Pedang, Ahmed also started slowing down a bit, as was Lucas for Lembing. Otis was sitting down, not even attempting to continue as he tried to catch his breath. Two more bags were found, one from each tribe.

"Harper, with another bag for Pedang, Delilah with another bag for Lembing, we're tied, six-six, it doesn't get much closer than this!"

It was after Matthew got done with his latest exclamation that Julio noticed that Otis seemed to be sitting on something. He quickly ran over to otis and almost knocked him over as he grabbed the last bag of puzzles for Pedang and ran over and put it on the table.

"PEDANG, WINS REWARD AND SHOT FOR IMMUNITY!"

The mud-covered and exhausted tribe all huddled together in celebration, cheering and shouting in jubilation. Marcus, despite not having a lot of energy, was able to pick up a few of the tribe in a giant bear hug.

After both tribes got some time to recover, they went back to their mats.

"Pedang, job well done, your first victory since day 2, it's bound to feel good."

"Hell yeah, Matt." Ahmed beamed.

"Now, before you compete for individual immunity, we've got to send Lembing back to camp, and before we do that, we have to figure out who is going to exile island."

Pedang huddled around to make the decision. Quite a few Lembing members looked incredibly nervous. Finally, Pedang made their choice, and Katrina announced it for the tribe.

"We're going to send Quincy." She said.

Quite a few on the Lembing tribe looked relieved, though Amber and Nathan gave concerned looks to the old history teacher, who had a resigned look on his face.

"Alright Bones, you'll be headed out to Exile Island. For the rest of Lembing, I've got nothing for you, head back to camp, I'll see you tonight at tribal council."

As the Lembing tribe exited, there were mixed emotions all around.

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing tribe): This is the first challenge we've lost in a while, which wouldn't be so bad, except it was more than just a reward challenge and we're going to tribal council. With Bones gone, I think it'd be easy for everyone to just go after him and target him, but I think there are people on this tribe that deserve to go before him, and I'm going to fight for him._

After the Lembing tribe had gone, the Pedang tribe was led to the end of the course at the table where the puzzle bags were sitting, and Matthew started his explanation for the upcoming challenge. "Alright Pedang, I know you all must be exhausted, but the fun doesn't stop here. It's now time for you guys to compete for individual immunity."

"The challenge is as goes: Inside each of the puzzle bags, which you'll untie and unload at this table, are 7 ladder rungs with different designs on the end. You will each need to ascend one of those ladders to get to the top of the platform. You can only carry one piece at a time to the ladder, and the pieces only have one specific slot they fit in, so expect a lot of running back and forth. First tribe member to get to the top of the raised platform wins individual immunity, and is safe at tribal council tonight. Sound good? We'll pick your spots and get going."

The seven Pedang members each started at the table.

"Survivor's ready, GO!"

The seven quickly started untying their bags, and got to work emptying them. Everyone quickly ran out to their ladder, and looked at the slot shape for the first rung. They ran back and tried to find the rung to match. Many of the rungs had similar shapes at their ends, some just reversed or slightly smaller or larger. Otis was the first one to run back out, quickly followed by Julio and Katrina. Harper and Sofia followed suit. Julio got to his ladder just before Otis, and both men placed their first rung in. They both fit. Katrina got to her ladder and got hers to fit as well. Harper and Sofia got to their ladders, but neither of theirs fit, forcing them to go back.

Marcus made his way to put one in, and found his just barely didn't fit. He had to go back.

Ahmed tried squeezing one in, but it wouldn't stick and he had to go back.

Five minutes in...

"Otis currently in the lead with four rungs, Julio and Katrina each with three, Marcus with two, Sofia with one, Ahmed and Harper at the end of the pack still with zero rungs in." Matthew announced.

"Mine are broke er somethin', what gives!" Harper yelled as she tried to squeeze another one in, unknowingly using the one she had picked up the first time as she ran to her ladder again. Meanwhile, Julio got back to his ladder and placed another correct rung.

"Julio, now tied with Otis four to four. Otis slowing down on the running."

Otis was panting as he brought back another rung. Julio made it back to his table quickly as Katrina made her way to the ladder to place another ladder.

"Katrina up to 4 pieces, widening the gap between the leading three and the rest of the pack."

Julio and Otis got to their ladder at the same time, and placed their pieces in.

"Both Julio and Otis grab the wrong rungs, they both go back, opening the door for Katrina."

Julio raced back while Otis trudged his way back, clearly out of breath. Katrina was also easily running along, getting back to her ladder and placing in another rung. As she did, Marcus was able to get another piece.

"Katrina has overtaken Otis and Julio, she only needs two more and she's won."

Julio got to his ladder as Katrina raced to her table. Julio managed to place in the correct rung and sprint back, trying desperately to get back in the game. Katrina ran back to her ladder, going to place in another piece. As she tried to place it however, she found it wouldn't fit.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Katrina said, grinning despite herself. As she climbed down to go get the other rung, Otis made it back to his ladder with the correct rung, as did Julio.

"Julio only has one more rung to go, Otis and Katrina only have two left, but it may be too little too late."

Julio had tears streaming from his eyes as he ran the last rung up and placed it in. He climbed up, panting and gasping more than Otis at this point. He scrambled up onto the platform and raised his hands in victory.

"JULIO, WINS INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY!"

The entire tribe dropped to the ground, almost all of them exhausted. Julio also collapsed on the platform, obscured from view of the tribe below.

"Julio, whenever you're ready, come on down and collect your immunity." Matthew called up. He got no answer. The tribe all slowly turned their attention to the host as Matthew climbed up Julio's ladder. There was silence as Matthew got up to the platform and knelt beside their still hidden tribemate.

"Is everything ok up there?" Marcus asked, as Matt seemed to lean down towards Julio.

They then watched as Matthew looked out into the distance and shouted the one word they had unfortunately heard a few days before. "We're gonna need medical!"

As Julio was carefully lowered from the platform, the tribe all hunkered down a ways away. They were sitting under the shade of a tree, each one had a bottle of water. They watched as Matthew and a doctor had a discussion and pointed at Julio's arm every now and again. They saw Julio stirring a bit, but he didn't look like he was getting up anytime soon. They saw Matthew lean down to talk to him.

"Well he's got enough energy to talk, that's gotta be good, right?" Sofia asked.

"I'm sure he's gonna be just fine." Ahmed said, though he didn't know if he was 100% sure of what he was saying. Marcus placed an arm around Harper as the two leaned against the tree. Sofia had her full attention on Julio, and Katrina tried rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her. Meanwhile, Otis sat off from the rest of the tribe, merely staring off at his unfinished ladder.

The tribe eagerly got up as Matthew stood and motioned for them to come over. They made their way over to see Julio with tears welling up in his eyes. He regarded them with a warm but wavering smile.

"Hey Julio, are you doing alright buddy?" Ahmed asked.

"I passed out up there, but I'm feeling better now. Doc just said it was exhaustion." Julio said, though the rest of the tribe could tell something was wrong. "However, the doctor also took a look at my arm." Julio said despondently. "It's... it looks like I'm gonna have to go."

"What?" Harper asked, caught completely off guard.

"Yeah. Apparently my cut ended up getting an infection, and the doctor is worried that it might spread soon if they don't get me to a hospital." Julio said, trying to keep a more stoic appearance. "Either I get taken out of the game or I might lose my arm. So I'm leaving the game."

The tribe had several reactions of displeasure as they stood in silence for what felt like hours but was only moments. Sofia buried her face in her hands, Ahmed's mouth fell open in shock, and Otis looked down at the ground, not even wanting to look Julio in the eye. The only person who chose to speak after a minute's time was Katrina.

"When we get home, I'm kicking that coconut's ass for what it did to you." She said, her voice very monotone.

To the surprise of just about everyone, Julio laughed. Tears were still rolling down his cheeks, but he laughed. "Thank you very much. Just make sure not to hurt yourself while doing it."

The tribe all huddled around and gave Julio a hug as a boat came to the shoreline. Otis was the first to break from the huddle, followed by Marcus and Harper, then Katrina, then Ahmed, and then finally Sofia.

"I'm still so sorry about what happened." Sofia said shakily to her friend.

"Don't keep beating yourself up, it's alright." Julio said as the two broke their hug.

"Stay strong guys. I want to see you all bounce back from this stronger and better than ever. Start up a Pedang win streak, alright?" Julio said as he got up with assistance from Matt and hobbled away. "Chop a coconut for me!" The tribe watched him get on the boat, and soon the boat went off shore, and faded into the distance.

 _Julio (Newspaper editor, Pedang tribe): I woke up this morning feeling sore, tired, but confident in my tribe. I'm leaving now feeling regret, exhaustion, and nothing but pride in my tribe. I want to see at least one, if not two, sitting there at the finals on finale night. I got faith in them. I couldn't be happier about getting to play this game and getting to know these guys._

Matthew somberly walked back to the remaining six Pedang members. "Seeing as you guys have just lost a member, you'll all be excused from having to go to tribal council tonight. Go ahead and head back to camp, I'll see you at the next reward challenge."

Sofia, Ahmed, Marcus, Harper, Katrina, and Otis all acknowledged the statement and shuffled to the direction of their camp.

* * *

 _Exile Island -Day 9-_

Bones stepped onto the unimpressive little collection of sand piles that made up Exile Island. He walked over to the chest and read the note. "Hmm, provisions or protection? Nice of the production team to have perused a thesaurus."

 _Bones (History Professor, Lembing tribe): I suppose this is meant to be a mixed blessing of sorts, a last minute chance to save myself through means of my wits in deciphering these clues. If I had any wits about me, I'd make the deduction that someone has already found the hidden immunity idol by now._

Bones casually reached under the chest and flipped it over.

 _Bones (History Professor, Lembing tribe): However, I'll need to keep my mind preoccupied while I'm out here, so even if it's already been acquired by someone else, I'd like to at least see how they managed it._

Bones flipped up the chest and took a look at the clue. He found a carved image, one of a clock with without any hands. Something seemed off, and Bones was able to see that it was that the 2 was replaced by an S and the 9 was replaced by a 2.

"That's it? No riddles, no wordplay, just pictures? Well, that's disheartening."

So Bones stared at the picture, trying to put reason to the intentional differences of the clock and coming up short. As he sat and thought about it, thoughts of the upcoming vote also snuck into his mind.

 _Bones (History Professor, Lembing tribe): I'd be lying to myself if I were to say I wasn't nervous of the upcoming vote. I sincerely hope my chances in this game aren't dependent on me finding this idol._

"Let's see here. Could the S be representing there the secret idol is? No, that probably isn't it, there are still more clues to find before it'd pinpoint where the idol would be. However, I am looking for the second clue, and the misplaced 2 could very well indicate the location of it. What does the S mean, then?" Bones muttered to himself. "If this is meant to be used as a location piece, a map of sorts, could S be the model for South? If so, 2 being south would mean 8 is directly north, and the island just to the right of north would be where the 2nd clue is!"

Bones sat to think about his hypothesis.

"Well, I've got nothing better to do than test it out. May as well."

So Bones looked to the setting sun, used it to pinpoint about where North would be, and then used that to walk towards the island closest to his sense of direction. He waded through the water separating the two islands, and then when he got to the middle of the island, he began to dig.

He dug for a few hours in multiple spots around the island, and just as he was about to give up and try and re-evaluate the puzzle, he found something solid buried underneath the sand. He hurriedly yanked it out. It was a small plaque with a note on it.

"Congratulations, you've just discovered the second clue to the hidden immunity idol.."

Bones smiled to himself as this time, the clue was in the form of words instead of pictures.

"Tired your body may be,

and hopes they are sure to fade.

Keep your mind and spirit strong,

for through the depths you will wade.

In a submerged bridge you'll find,

the last clue, you're almost done,

chase the light, you'll find it there,

hope lies with the setting sun."

Bones looked to the sun to see it half hidden by the horizon.

 _Bones (History professor, Lembing Tribe): While certainly not as riveting as I would've fancied it, I'll give credit to the team of clue makers for not making this too easy on me. This may just be the hardest thing I've had to face so far in this game._

* * *

 _Pedang -Evening 9-_

The tribe wandered back to their camp, not a single one even remotely happy with what all had occurred. Well, there was one who managed to see the bright side of things, and for once it wasn't Katrina.

"I'll go get some water." Otis said to nobody and particular, and nobody really seemed to mind as the eldest member of the tribe ventured off into the woods. As he made his way to the well, he tried to grapple with the mixed feelings he had. He certainly felt the same depressing force that had caused everyone else to look so gloomy, but he also had a countering positive force, that of relief.

 _Otis (Postal worker, Pedang tribe): I have no doubt that I would've been the one voted out tonight. It would've been unanimous. As soon as Julio won that necklace, I knew I was toast, so him dropping like that really... I feel terrible for even thinking it, but his getting evacuated is what saved me from the boot._

Otis got to the well, and close by saw the tribe's treemail. He walked over to the small sign that, in brown font on a white plaque, spelled out the tribe's name. The tribe that very nearly voted him out twice and likely would've done so on the third attempt.

Otis remembered all of the times his name came up at tribal council.

He remembered Harper's. He remembered Marcus's. He remembered Tim's. He remembered Ahmed's. He certainly remembered both of Julio's. Julio, the man who had publicly gunned for him at both tribals, the man who did what Otis tried to do around camp, only better. Julio, the man who's medical evacuation had just saved Otis's life in the game. Otis slowly walked back to the water well and poured some into his canteen. He walked back to the plaque nailed to the tree, and poured out the water underneath it.

"Goodbye Julio. I'm sorry."

* * *

 _Lembing -Evening 9-_

The remaining eight members of Lembing made their way back into camp, still dealing with the aftershock of emotions from realizing that they would soon be attending their first tribal council. The tribe, instead of lazily wandering off to their separate devices, all crowded around the campsite. Nobody spoke, as the general mood of doom hung over everyone's heads. Isabella found the entire thing rather irritating.

 _Isabella (Student teacher, Lembing tribe): I'm not the biggest fan of how we're treating this loss. We just walked into the challenge, sort of expecting it to be a walk in the park, and instead we end up losing, and when we all get back, we're all mopey and acting like a bunch of sad sacks. Get over yourselves._

Isabella stood up. "I'm going to go for a walk. Anyone want to join?" She was hoping that at least Nathan would speak up, but found the entire tribe was unresponsive. "Alright." She turned away from her team and walked off into the woods. A few castaways watched her go, but did little else. Delilah started to feel a bit cooped up. "I think I'm also going to go for a walk, if anyone wants to join."

As opposed to Isabella, Donny and Lucas both jumped at the opportunity. As the three departed, the remaining four at the camp looked around at each other. Nathan grinned. "I don't suppose anyone feels like taking me on a walk anytime soon?"

"Not at the moment, no." Victoria replied flatly.

Nathan chuckled, but wasn't going to be deterred from a conversation so easily. "So, if we're all good sitting here then, does anyone want to discuss the vote?"

Victoria and Jean stayed purposefully silent on the issue, but Amber seized on the opportunity to talk about strategy. "Sure, what seems to be the consensus at the moment?" Victoria gave a curious glance at Amber. Meanwhile, Nathan shrugged. "No clue, I don't think anyone has ever talked to me about a potential tribal council."

"Same here." Amber said. She looked over at Victoria and Jean. "How about you guys, have you given the vote any thought?"

Jean calmly shook her head. "Haven't heard a peep."

Victoria tried to follow suit. "Yeah, I haven't heard any names get dropped, either."

Nathan clapped his hands together. "Well, we've got half the tribe right here, right now. We could work together on this vote."

Jean raised an eyebrow. "Really? Who would you recommend?"

Nathan made as if to say something, but then stopped as he pondered the question. Truth be told, he didn't really have anyone he wanted to vote off. He figured he could always suggest Lucas, but he didn't think the tribe would go for it, and he didn't want to ruin the temporary truce the two had made. "I dunno, what would be a good reason to even vote someone off?"

Amber piped up. "Weakness in challenges."

Nathan cringed at the answer, as he'd sort of known it was coming. "If we're gonna talk about votin' Bones out, then man..."

"He's definitely not our strongest challenge performer." Victoria said carefully.

"I never said anything about Bones." Amber replied. "He's a good asset for puzzles and he's a pretty good worker bee around camp." Amber didn't think Bones was any better of a camp worker than anyone else on the tribe, but she didn't feel like saying that.

Nathan gave Amber a confused look, trying to figure out who she was referring to, when it finally dawned on him. "Oh." He suddenly seemed much less enthused with the conversation.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing tribe): I was really hoping I could get somewhere with the three girls in camp, but the only two names that came up were my two best friends out here. I wanted to try to find a way to change it to somebody else, but... there really aint a good reason to vote nobody out yet. This sucks._

As Nathan stewed over what Amber was saying, she switched her pitch to the two other women. "Isabella is a wonderful person, I think she's sweet, we've talked a few times here or there-"

"If you keep beating around the bush, we'll be at tribal by the time you get to your point." Jean said dryly. Victoria giggled a little bit, but listened attentively for what Amber had to say.

"Right," she continued, "but I think that out of all of us, she's contributed the least in challenges, and she's been probably the least social person on the tribe."

Jean sat listening, making no obvious displays of approval or rejection at the points being made. Meanwhile, Victoria visibly seemed to be accepting the plan to vote for Isabella.

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing tribe): It's definitely weird hearing Amber of all people talk strategically, but she's pretty straightforward and makes some good points. Out of everyone on the tribe, it makes the most sense to nix Isa._

However, as Amber was busy trying to set up an Isabella boot, Delilah was contemplating something a bit different. She, Lucas, and Donny had gone a ways down the shoreline to discuss the upcoming vote as an alliance. However, before she could start the discussion on the vote, she had some grievances she wanted to air out.

"So Lucas," Delilah said, "when exactly were you going to tell us about the idol?"

Lucas grimaced as he found himself put on the spot, but tried his best to bluff his way through. "I was hoping to find out more about it before I gave any details. I didn't even look for the thing on my first trip to exile, so I didn't think it was worth bringing up just yet."

"You don't think it would have been better for us to have known about it? It has a huge impact on the game! I mean, what if I were to find out about some sort of double vote advantage, wouldn't you rather I tell you I had it as opposed to leaving you in the dark?"

"I... You're right. I should've told you guys, that's my mistake. I should've put more trust in you guys."

Before Delilah could continue, Donny tried to move in to diffuse the situation. "It's alright Lucas, we're not trying to insinuate anything. Let's all get back on track and talk about the vote tonight. Delilah, you had an idea?"

Delilah nodded. "I was thinking, Bones is probably going to be looking for that idol. He's a smart enough guy to probably find it, even with his time on exile being shorter than usual." Lucas and Donny both voiced their agreements, and Delilah continued. "The way I see it, if we want to have a better shot of finding the idol, we vote for Bones tonight. If he has it, and he plays it, then it might get sent back to exile and it's up for grabs again. If he doesn't play it, it'll get sent back to exile anyway."

Donny smiled. The idea to vote for Bones didn't really seem to have any negatives.

 _Donny (Firefighter, Lembing tribe): Bones is a good guy, but he's weak in challenges, and the fact that he might have an immunity idol can only spell trouble for us. So taking him out tonight would be beneficial for everyone._

Lucas, surprisingly, seemed a bit hesitant on the idea. "Are we sure Sofia doesn't have it on the other tribe?"

"Even if she does, who cares. We're not exactly voting out a close ally if we're wrong on our hunch." Donny said dismissively.

Lucas smirked. "Fair point. I'll bring the other two over, and we can talk about it more."

As camp life in Lembing was being taken over by talks of boot options and discussing gameplay, there was one person who wanted to stay as far away from it all as possible, and her name was Isabella. She was currently spending her time roaming around the jungle, glancing up at the multi-colored birds that flittered from one branch to the next on the trees, taking in the colors that the setting sun was casting on much of the flora and fauna, and breathing in air that smelled of sea water and mud.

 _Isabella (Student teacher, Lembing tribe): If I wanted to, I could be trying to save myself right now, but that's not what's important to me in this game. What's really important to me, right now, is just taking it all in one last time. I've been living on this island for over a week, and at most I'll have about another month here, and I want to make sure I've gotten as much as I can from this little adventure while possible. If I go tonight, I'll go knowing how cool it is to see the Indian ocean reach my feet on a sandy beach in a country I had hardly even heard of before all of this._

As Isabella strolled backed to the edge of the trees, the Lembing alliance was having a kerfuffle as to who the vote was going to be tonight.

"I don't see why we can't just vote Isabella out." Victoria complained. "She's done less in challenges and all she does is go off into the jungle, and only sometimes does she come back with food."

"That'd be stupid, we can't just leave Bones alone if he may end up having the hidden immunity idol." Lucas countered.

"He's a better asset to the tribe!" Victoria argued.

"It's not about who's more useful, it's about who the bigger threat is." Lucas said. "It doesn't matter if Isabella pisses on the fire in the next hour, we know she doesn't have an immunity idol. She'd be a waste of a vote."

"You do realize how ridiculous you sound, right?" Victoria asked, trying her best not to snap at Lucas. Lucas was about to retort when Delilah stepped in.

"Whether he realizes it or not, that's besides the point. I agree with what he's trying to say. I believe that the idol, in Bones's hands, could have a really negative impact on all of our games if we let him keep it."

"We don't know if he even has it, though! That's the thing. We're getting rid of a good asset to our tribe, as well as the guy who got us fire without flint, based on a hunch." Victoria desperately tried reasoning with the group.

"Do you want to get voted out because of an idol? Because I sure don't." Lucas said, crossing his arms across his chest. "You have to know that anybody who's gone to exile has a chance of having the idol."

"Dude, you were the first person to go! I mean, should you be getting some votes, should we have to worry about flushing your idol?" Victoria asked accusingly.

"Are you threatening to vote for me?" Lucas asked in disbelief. As the two continued to argue, Donny sighed, Delilah was listening to the conversation with rapt attention, and Jean was trying to tune most of it out, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance. The three all stood to one side, watching the argument continue.

"Nobody is voting for anyone in this alliance." Jean said firmly, glaring at the two of them until they cowed down.

 _Jean (Nurse, Lembing tribe): When I helped make this alliance, I was hoping I was making it with adults, but unfortunately, two children seemed to make it in, and now they're in a shouting match._

Before any more arguing could be done, an interruption came in the form of a tap on Jean's shoulder. Jean spun around to see Isabella, with a bemused look on her face. The rest of the alliance stopped focusing on the conversation and instead paid attention to the student teacher who seemed to have snuck up out of nowhere.

"So, Nathan and I are doing one last run in the jungle. Anyone have any special requests?" Isabella asked. Lucas and Victoria both lacked an answer, they were too busy imitating a deer in the headlights. Donny shrugged his shoulders and Delilah shook her head no.

"If you could find anymore pineapples, I'd really appreciate it." Jean said, trying to avoid looking as obviously suspicious as some of her alliancemates. Isabella smirked, nodded, and mimed writing down Jean's request. "One pineapple for the last supper, sounds good, I'll get the chef on it right now. HEY NATHAN, MAMA WANTS A PINEAPPLE!"

As Isabella went back to camp to go get Nathan to help with more fruit gathering, Jean took the awkward silence as an opportunity to mellow things out. "Alright guys, it's obvious we're very split on this. What I propose is, we vote how we individually want to vote. No need to argue, no need to persuade anyone here. We all trust each other that we won't vote for anyone out of the five of us, and that's good enough. Now let's just go back to camp and try to actually enjoy the rest of the evening."

Before Lucas could protest, Donny jumped right on the excuse to end the argument. "Sounds great. Lucas, you want to help me get an area cleared out for building a new base for the shelter. We can start working on remodeling it first thing tomorrow morning."

Lucas huffed, but agreed. The two left, and soon after Victoria went to go hang out with Amber back at camp. That left Jean and Delilah.

"So, how exactly are we going to play this out?" Delilah asked. "I feel like Bones is still the right choice, but I'll vote with how you want to."

Jean rubbed her forehead and breathed slowly. "Hon, I'm not in the mood right now. When it gets closer to tribal, I'll let you know."

As Jean and Delilah made their way back to camp, Lembing finally seemed to settle down, and everything was once again like it seemed to be. Nathan and Isabella were out getting food, Lucas and Donny were getting minimal work done on the shelter, and the rest of the tribe were hanging around camp, talking idly with whoever they felt they were close to about trivial things. It felt like both an eternity and a brief moment before it was time for them each to pick up their torches and make their way to tribal council.

Jean (Nurse, Lembing tribe): You would think that our first tribal wouldn't be so damn hectic, but apparently the alliance is split half and half, and I'm not even sure where I stand on the matter. It could very well be either Bones or Isabella tonight.

* * *

 _Tribal council -Night 9-_

As the sun slipped below the horizon, very little light could be found across most of the island. That is, of course, except for in tribal council. Eight unlit torches made their way soundlessly through the night sky as they headed for the side of the wrecked cargo hold. As they entered the interior, they found the the ceiling disappeared, allowing the moonlight to flood in and cover the cast. The metal floor soon disappeared underneath the sand of the beach, and they soon found nine wooden tree stumps.

Matthew, meanwhile, sat opposite of the large fire that was placed directly in front of the rows of stumps. He grinned as the tribe lined up, each standing in front of a stump.

"We'll now bring in Quincy, returning from Exile Island."

"Is it weird that it almost sounds weirder to hear him not called Bones?" Nathan asked Amber as the old man strolled in with his own torch. Amber stifled a laugh. Matthew officially began the tribal council procedure.

"Go ahead, dip your torches into the fire, out here fire represents life, once your fire out, so is your time in the game."

The nine did as they were bid and, after standing their torches behind them in the sand, sat on the stumps. Matthew began the conversation.

"Lembing, pleasure to see you guys, though you probably won't say the same for me." Matthew joked. Donny gave a nervous chuckle, though most kept a serious demeanor. Matthew decided to get to business.

"Before we continue further, I'd like to inform you of a little bit of news on the other tribe. Pedang suffered a loss earlier today as Julio was medically evacuated due to his arm injury."

Most of the tribe reacted in surprise, Victoria covered her mouth, Amber mouthed an obscenity, Nathan grimaced, and Isabella made a pained expression.

"Due to this, Pedang will not have tribal council tonight. They're down to six, and after tonight, you'll be down to eight. That said, let's begin."

Matthew decided to select the lawyer for the first target of questioning.

"Lucas, this is the first time I've gotten to hear from you guys, how's camp life been the first nine days?"

Lucas gave the question some thought. "It's certainly been interesting Matthew, I think it was certainly very disorganized at the beginning, but nowadays everyone has sort have fallen into a routine and now it's gotten a bit more stable."

"In that routine, do people have specific jobs?"

"We have things that need to get done, and people get them done."

Matthew was a bit perplexed with the answer, but decided to move on.

"Victoria, do you think camp life has been working out so far?"

Victoria shrugged her shoulders and teetered her hand. "It's got its ups and downs. Like, our shelter isn't the greatest thing. We had seven people saying they were going to build it on day one, and by day two we had a dingy little shack roof and a bunch of logs laying on the ground as a floor. Since then, Donny and Delilah have been trying to remodel it. Hopefully by tomorrow, something can actually come of it, because we're still sleeping in the sh*t shack."

Lucas glanced over to Victoria as she finished. "I've been working on the shelter, too."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, and Lucas has been working on it, too." Victoria added boredly.

Matthew decided to switch the subject as Lucas stewed over the comment.

"Delilah, do you think your, as Lucas put, stable camp life has had an effect on your challenge record. This is the first time this tribe has been to tribal, and even then both tribes were supposed to go tonight."

Delilah nodded. "I think our tribe, for the most part, has been free of drama, and not having to worry about who is saying what and who is doing what at camp really helps us mentally prepare for the challenges."

Matthew turned to Nathan. "You guys have managed to go nine days with no drama?"

Nathan made to respond, but then sheepishly scratched his back. "Well, I mean, we had some drama I guess, but we're past that."

"What would that be?"

"Lucas and I got into it back on day one, and then we got into a few more fights here and there, but I think me and him are cool now." Nathan raised his fist to Lucas, who awkwardly raised his own to fist bump it. Matthew decided to bring up more recent events.

"Jean, how did it feel seeing Lembing lose and not be able to help in any way?"

"It felt about as wonderful as you'd think." Jean replied sarcastically.

"Why did you choose to sit out?"

"It was an obstacle course. I'm good at a lot of things, medical terminology, puzzles, talking to people, but running up walls and digging around in the dirt aren't things at which I excel." Jean answered.

"Were you at all worried about not getting to perform at the immunity challenge if Lembing had won?"

"I would be slightly more worried if we had won the reward, if only because that would mean there'd be one less option to vote out of this tribe that isn't me." Jean responded, carefully picking her words. Nobody noticed Isabella, who was sitting at the end of the trunks, roll her eyes.

Matthew turned his attention to the other sit out. "Bones, not only did you not get to participate at today's challenge, but you also didn't get to participate in camp life immediately following the challenge. What were your thoughts while you were on Exile Island?"

"My thoughts primarily consisted of: 'Ah, I'm hungry. Ah, I'm thirsty. Boredom, also a concern.'" Bones replied cheekily, getting a few laughs from Amber, Nathan, and Isabella. "Besides this, I suppose I also gave thought to how disadvantageous my little trip ended up being. Quite a lot can happen in a matter of a few hours at camp." Bones finished.

"How did you spend your time on Exile Island?" Matthew asked. Lucas and Delilah both perked up after the question was asked, and were quite anxious of the answer.

"I dozed off once or twice." Bones said, stifling a yawn. Nathan smirked and patted Bones on the back.

"Don't worry buddy, you'll be home soon."

"Do you think you're in trouble tonight?" Matthew asked.

"I believe I very well may be." Bones said.

Matthew addressed the tribe as a whole. "Does anyone else feel like they may be in trouble tonight?"

Isabella's hand shot straight up. A few people looked mildly surprised to see the often quiet girl respond to the question, while others were more amused.

"Isabella, why do you think you're in trouble?"

"I suck at challenges." Isabella bluntly responded. Once more, the tribe reacted with slight amusement.

"Any other reasons besides challenge performance?" Matthew asked.

"Not to my knowledge." She said.

"Have you talked with many of your tribemates to get a feeling for what they want to do?" Matthew asked.

"No. I don't really feel like talking to many of them about votes."

"Why not?"

Isabella merely shrugged. The tribe gave her curious looks. Matthew saw that he was trying to get water out of a dry well and moved on.

"Amber, what will the vote be based on for you tonight?"

"How much worth someone has to the tribe." Amber said.

"Lucas?"

"Who is the biggest threat to my game." Lucas stated.

"Jean?"

Jean paused before coming to a conclusion. "I'll be voting based on a conversation I had earlier today."

"Alright, with that, it's time to vote. Amber, you're first up."

As Amber got up, she turned back to the group. "Glad we could all agree on being really vague tonight."

She got up to the podium and scribbled out three letters.

Isa

"This isn't about getting rid of you. it's about saving someone else."

Donny got up and cast his vote.

Bones got up and cast his vote.

Nathan went up neatly wrote out a name.

Donny

"You're the least likely to take this personally. Sorry, but the two people I get on with are the ones getting the votes tonight. I'm not gonna decide between em."

Victoria went up and cast her vote.

Delilah went up and cast her vote.

Lucas went up and wrote two letters before scribbling them out and then writing next to them.

Bo- Quincy

"You're a grown man, act like it. Hope for your sake you found the idol between those naps."

Jean went up to cast her vote. She stood at the podium for a few seconds before un-capping the pen and writing down a name.

?

"Hopefully after this, I can get things working smoothly again."

Before Isabella went up to cast the last vote, she turned to the tribe. "I'm voting for someone in the alliance." After saying this, she calmly walked up to the podium while the tribe looked around confusedly as to what she was referring to. Even Matthew looked puzzled at what had just occurred. Isabella went up to the podium, wrote down some words, and then put the ballot in the urn without saying anything.

?

She walked back to her spot, ignoring everyone. Matthew decided to just go with it.

"I'll collect the votes."

Matthew retrieved the urn. As he did so, Nathan leaned over to Isabella. The two had a hushed conversation that left a stunned look on Nathan's face. Matthew came back.

"Once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

"First vote, Quincy." Matthew held up Lucas's vote. Bones smirked at seeing his name written right next to the first two letters of his nickname.

"Second vote, Isabella." Isabella shrugged indignantly.

"Third vote, Donny." Delilah, Donny, and Lucas all shared puzzled expressions, which didn't go unnoticed by some.

"Fourth vote, Bones." The vote had a small picture of a skull and crossbones. Bones looked impressed. "I'll admit, that's a splendid drawing. Hard to be angered by art."

"Fifth vote, Isa. That's two votes Isabella, two votes Bones, one vote Donny." Both Bones and Isabella looked incredibly calm, while Amber and Nathan both looked incredibly nervous.

"Sixth vote, Lucas." Lucas looked up in shock as he heard his name read, and saw a few words spelled out on the parchment. 'Lucas, waste of a vote/person.'

"Let's not go overboard with these votes, please." Matthew said dryly as he pulled the next vote out.

"Seventh vote, Isabella. That's three votes Isabella, two votes Bones, one vote Lucas, one vote Donny."

"Eighth vote, Bones. That's three votes Isabella, three votes Bones, one vote Lucas, one vote Donny. We're tied with three votes for Bones and Isabella. If this last vote isn't for either of them, we will go to a revote."

Isabella crossed her arms, sighing. Bones fiddled his thumbs, smiling benignly at the host. Lucas was glancing around, trying to make eye contact with anyone that happened to be looking the irate lawyer's way. Jean stared at the urn, knowing her vote would be the last read.

"Ninth vote, and fourth person leaving Survivor Maldives is..."

Matthew turned the parchment around.

"Isabella. Grab your torch."

Isabella casually got up, gave Nathan a quick hug, and then retrieved her torch. She stood in front of Matthew.

"Isabella, the tribe has spoken."

He snuffed her torch with little fanfare, and Isabella quietly made her way out of the tribal council area. Matthew turned to address the tribe.

"You guys claim to have had an easy and stable first 9 days. If this tribal is anything to go by, that stability might be coming to an end. Pack your stuff, head back to camp."

The tribe departed.

 _Next time on… Survivor!_

 _Lucas isn't too pleased to find out what the tribe really thinks of him._

 _"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"_

 _The Pedang tribe strengthens their bonds, but leaves one member feeling on the outs._

 _Otis: What does it matter, I'm out next anyway._

 _And another surprise leads to everyone's games getting flipped upside down._

 _Matthew smiled. "Drop your buffs."_

Votes

For Lucas: Isabella

For Donny: Nathan

For Bones: Lucas, Delilah, Donny

For Isabella: Bones, Amber, Victoria, Jean

Isabella's last words: This was a fun experience. Just getting to rough it on a deserted island was more than I bargained for, but I wouldn't give it up for anything. To all the people left, all I can say is I hope you take time out of the game to appreciate the bigger picture around you.


	4. Falling on Deaf Ears

Previously on... Survivor!

Morale was low after a Terri boot at Pedang.

Sofia: Our tribe isn't getting any stronger.

At Lembing, Nathan and Isabella further alienated themselves from their tribe, and Lucas was added on as a fifth to the power alliance.

At the reward challenge, both tribes competed for the chance to win individual immunity, as both tribes were set to go to tribal council.

"PEDANG WINS REWARD!"

However, after winning reward and individual immunity, Julio's injury caught back up with him.

"We're gonna need medical!"

He was medically evacuated from the game, sparing Pedang and more specifically, Otis.

At Lembing, with tribal looming, the targets were Bones, for fear of an idol, and Isabella, who was seen as a liability. After an argument on the beach, the alliance and the tribe as a whole were fractured, and the split vote sent Isabella home. Only 14 are left, who'll be voted out next?

* * *

 _Lembing Night 9_

As the Lembing tribe made their way back from camp, the mood was much more tense than when they had left. Amber was the first to make her way to the shelter. She felt the most content of the tribe, having gotten her way at tribal, and didn't much care to talk to anyone else about the votes. She was soon joined by Victoria, who wanted to avoid any post-vote strategy talks that her alliance might try to drag her into. As the two young girls laid down on the uneven poles of bamboo, four other people were congregating out in the jungle.

"What the hell happened? How were there only three votes for Bones?" Delilah asked.

"I voted for Isabella. I never agreed to a Bones vote." Jean said blankly. "Besides, it might have worked out in our favor. Isabella either voted for Lucas or Donny, while Bones voted for Isabella."

"To save his own skin." Delilah pointed out.

"Which Isabella could've done, but she didn't." Jean countered. "She was a wild card, she knew about our alliance and publicly called it out, and she threw a vote at us. I understand the concern for keeping Bones, but Isabella proved herself to be just as dangerous to the group."

Donny lazily looked back and forth between the two women before resting his eyes on the lawyer. "Lucas, you've been quiet, you got anything to say?"

"No." Lucas answered bluntly.

"You ok buddy?" Donny asked, slightly concerned by his alliance mate's somber attitude.

"Hell no." Lucas replied indignantly. "I didn't deserve that vote tonight!"

Donny cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Are you kidding me! No, I didn't, and before you start, you didn't deserve yours either, but at least you didn't have a little insult lacing yours. 'Waste of a person'. What kind of tactless bullsh(censored)t was that?" Lucas ranted. Donny shrugged as Jean and Delilah went about trying to calm Lucas down.

 _Donny (firefighter, Lembing tribe): Lucas has gotta be one of the densest people I've ever had the displeasure of working with. The guy is a hot head, plain and simple, and those are also two words that could accurately describe him. On top of that, he's got an ego the size of the country we're living in. 'Didn't deserve a vote?' Yeah, well, maybe you should take into consideration calling other people wastes and yelling at certain members of the tribe won't make you Mr. Popular._

As the alliance continued their talk, another conversation was going on down on the beach, away from the camp site.

"It's a pleasure seeing you again Nathan." Bones said as he hugged the young model. "I'd also like to take this moment to thank you for not casting a vote against me."

"Don't mention it, dude." Nathan responded a bit despondently.

"What seem- oh, right. My apologies for my survival being at the expense of Isabella. She was a wonderful tribemate." Bones left an arm on Nathan's shoulder. He didn't really remember or care about Isabella, but he knew that was the sort of thing Nathan would want to hear.

"Yeah, she was a good friend out here. I didn't want it to be either one of you guys tonight, but that's how it ended up going." Nathan said, running his hand through his hair.

"So, if I may ask, who was it that thought it best to bring my name into consideration for the vote?" Bones asked, taking on a slightly more serious demeanor.

"I think it was Lucas and Delilah. Best bet Donny was the third vote, the man just votes however his girlfriend does." Nathan muttered.

"I see. Well, that's a very distinct way of describing their relationship." Bones said, his brighter and more easy going persona returning. "I suppose that's all I really needed to ask of you tonight. I'll be returning to the shelter, I'd advise you do the same, best to get a full night's rest."

With a slight pat on the back, Bones retreated back to the camp site. As he walked back, he noticed the four that had been in the jungle returning about the same time.

 _Bones (History Professor, Lembing tribe): So it would seem Miss Delilah and Mister Lucas wanted me gone tonight. I don't know if I should feel honored to be given such high praise to be considered a threat, or if I should be insulted to such a degree as to be called a liability. Either way, the two made their intentions known, and that's a terribly risky move on their part. Especially since I'm still here to react to it._

* * *

 _Lembing Day 10_

The tenth morning on the shores of the islands off of Maldives greeted the groggy Lembing tribe with a lack of sunlight, as large clouds had started to form above, obscuring the blue sky they had all grown so accustomed to seeing. As the clouds stayed in the sky, they started growing in volume and growing darker in color, and it wasn't long before rain started falling down. Most of the tribe huddled together under the roof of the shelter, which had multiple leaks and holes in, allowing the water to drain in and start to cover the floor. All of them were awake and miserable looking, with the exception of Donny, who looked nonplused with his surroundings, and Bones, who was still sound asleep.

"This sucks." Victoria muttered, summing up the entire feeling of the tribe. She was currently huddled up with Amber near the center of the shelter. Amber held up her light jacket over the two of them, trying slightly in vain to stay dry.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): Let's see, only three people working on the shelter for the past week and its not properly made to support eight people? Who would have guessed? Honestly, these people are idiots about these kinds of things. No, let's not help out Lucas and Donny and Delilah when they're trying to reinforce the roof or the floor, let's just lounge about, and then have the nerve to say Lucas doesn't even help with the shelter. Talk about the pot calling the damn kettle black._

As the tribe stayed huddled underneath the shelter, Nathan, who found himself near the edge of the small shack, decided to lean out and stick his tongue out, getting some water. He looked over to the tribe pot, which was currently sitting out to collect rain water, but in no condition to do much else as the fire under it had gone out. The fire had survived nearly ten days, but now it was gone, and there was no way to bring it back

"Hopefully we'll be able to ask Jeff if we can trade our next reward for flint." Donny said hopefully, trying to think positvely once the tribe had discovered it when they woke up. The rest of the tribe muttered agreement, but it was clear nobody felt any better.

Nathan, his head already dipped out, decided he might as well follow through, and stepped out, stretching a bit. Hardly anyone in the tribe regarded him doing so, nor did they really notice when he left. Nathan strolled out the back of the camp and into the jungle, looking to continue his morning routine of gathering food. He also needed a moment to really process where his head was at in the game.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing tribe): So, last night my bestie was booted, and now I'm here gathering food by myself. It's a weird feeling, definitely. You kinda get into a groove of things and then when stuff changes you just sorta get... I dunno._

Nathan found a large tree with a few coconuts hanging around the same spot. He casually started climbing the tree, not in any sort of rush to get out of the rain, which he was barely aware of. He made his way up the trunk and got to the coconuts, and out of habit he looked down, expecting to see a short student teacher standing there waiting to make a comment, but instead all he found was leaves and bare ground. He sighed and began chopping at the coconuts.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing tribe): I know it's only one person gone from the tribe, but to me it's like... half of MY tribe is gone, y'know. I had Isa and I got Bones still, and I dunno if I can be as chummy with Bones as I can- uh, could with her. I mean, I don't hate everyone else, but I'm not comfortable around them. People like Victoria and Delilah are way too high strung, I can't talk to Jean without feeling like I'm talking to a robot, Lucas and I are still kinda shaky and I only ever see Donny hanging out with either him or Delilah. I'd try to talk with Amber but, man, she just gives me weird vibes. I feel like anytime she's smiling or making small talk it's just fake. Plus, I'm pretty sure she's kinda the reason why Isabella left, so... not too happy about that._

As two coconuts plopped to the ground, Nathan went to continue chopping when he paused, and slowly lowered the machete as he began his descent on the tree. As he got to the ground, he picked up the two coconuts. "One for me, and one for the rest of my tribe." Nathan said to himself, with the closest thing resembling a smile he'd had since the day before.

Meanwhile, at the camp, the other seven Lembing members were still huddled together, some visibly shaking and shivering. Victoria was taking it the worst, as she was curled up into herself and constantly moving her arms and legs around, trying to find any way to stay relatively warm. Amber watched her close friend struggle with the elements with mild concern.

"Hey Vic, let's get out of the shelter." Amber suggested. Victoria looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"Are you kidding! I'm freezing in here!" Victoria said shrilly.

"Well, you won't be any colder outside, and more movement will warm you up." Amber said impatiently. "So up and at em sport, let's get a move on."

Victoria hesitantly got up, but not before making eye contact with Jean, who gave a slight nod and motioned for Victoria to move. As Victoria got out into the rain, Amber slung her jacket around the student and the two started walking into the jungle. As they got deeper inside, the amount of water hitting them decreased, and while certainly as humid, the interior of the trees provided a slight warmth and respite from the wind that had been blwoing up the shores. Victoria was already starting to feel a little bit better, though she was still shaking quite a bit.

"Alright, let's just keep walking around. Best thing to do is keep walking and talking to get your mind off of it." Amber said, putting her arm around Victoria's shoulder. Victoria nodded and moved closer to Amber, and the two strolled along in the woods. While the walking was helping slightly, Amber decided to try and start a conversation.

"So, what are some things you do for fun over at Harvard?" Amber asked. Victoria rolled her eyes.

"How many times have I told you that I go to Washington State, and not Harvard?" She chastised.

"Probably more times than I've listened." Amber said. "Besides, all colleges are the same, and that's the one college name I know."

"There are a lot of things wrong with what you just said." Victoria said smirking. "Like, way too many things wrong."

"How so?" Amber asked.

"Well, for starters, not all colleges are the same. If you want to get into Harvard, you need incredibly high grades and a much bigger ACT score than I-" Victoria started, before Amber cut in.

"Neeeerrrrrrrrd."

"How is me explaining the differences of colleges making me a nerd?" Victoria questioned, playfully shoving Amber a bit.

"I heard you talk about ACT scores and you started off talking like you were about to give a lecture. If I wanted that, I would've invited Bones out to come and walk with us." Amber laughed, walking closer to Victoria. Victoria rolled her eyes again.

"I'm not a nerd, I just barely got into college. I'm an idiot, if anything." She said. Amber curled her lip at that.

"Well, if you're an idiot for getting into college, what does that make me?" She asked.

"Wha- I- that's not what I meant." Victoria sputtered, suddenly very nervous that she had just insulted the mechanic. However, Amber reacted to Victoria's change in demeanor with a smirk.

"I'm just giving you a hard time. I chose not to go to college, and I don't think your performance in school or how close you were to not getting accepted for things determines how smart you are." Amber said as she playfully tussled Victoria's hair. "All that matters is how you treat people."

"Thank you, walking talking PSA." Victoria said, leaning on Amber as they continued their walk. She had stopped shivering a while ago. Amber grinned.

"No problem nerd." Amber replied.

Further east in the jungle, yet another Lembing member had gone off on his own. He had told the others of his plans before venturing out, and had now arrived at his destination, a large, fallen tree trunk with a small stream running by. Donny smiled as he took a deep breath, smelling the scent of morning dew mixing in with dense, humid air and the various odors of natural flora and fauna. He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a cross necklace, pulled it in for a kiss, and then put it back where it was. He then knelt before the trunk, put his elbows on it, and began praying.

"Dear Lord, thank you for the day you have given me." He began, and went on from there, listing the things he was thankful for, from the various sights of the island to his fellow tribemates, to even the meager food they received each day from their rice container and Nathan's scavenging.

 _Donny (Firefighter, Lembing tribe): I was a little disheartened originally when I seemed to be the only really religious person on our tribe. I had figured there'd be more of us, but oh well. I had originally done my praying in camp, but I got told that some people were a bit uncomfortable with it, so I decided to move it out a ways away from everyone else._

"Dear Lord, protect me as I try to live in your word and walk in your ways. Please lend me the strength to continue to live and survive in this new and beautiful place. Please help me to keep calm and keep peaceful with my neighbors." Donny continued.

 _Donny (Firefighter, Lembing tribe): I pray about once a day, usually in the mornings. I think it helps keep me relaxed and centered. I know in a game like this, it's easy to get paranoid, or get frustrated, or get judgmental, but I think just taking a minute every day to step back and re-evaluate everything past the game is a great process._

"Thank you once again, oh Lord, and may you continue to guide me in your will. Amen." Donny finished, getting up and lightly dusting off his knees. He stretched, smiled at his surroundings, and started to make his way back to camp.

Indeed, it seemed like there would be very little strategy being discussed in the Lembing camp that morning. However, after Donny, Victoria, Amber, and Nathan had all gone, Lucas, Delilah, and Jean decided to have an impromptu alliance meeting. They sat in the center of camp, about ten feet away from the shelter.

"What's the game plan moving forward?" Lucas asked.

"Same as it was initially." Delilah said, giving a side glance to Jean. "We get rid of Bones next. He's physically the weakest, and unless he can make us another fire, he has nothing going for him in terms of helping out around camp."

"I think he needed his cheap little mask to make the first one, so I doubt he can make another." Jean said, making sure she came off as though she was on board with targeting Bones.

"Alright, so we're agreed on booting Bones? Everyone is on the same page?" Lucas questioned again. After the fiasco last night, he wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable with the plan moving forward. Delilah gave a curt nod. Jean hesitated and decided to bring in another point.

"Say Bones has the idol, though." Jean began and continued with her point before either of the two could interrupt. "We should probably plan for one or two votes to go another way, just to air on the side of caution."

Delilah frowned initially but sighed. "Alright, where should those votes go?"

"I'm thinking Amber." Jean said.

"Why Amber?" Lucas asked.

"She was the one who was able to get momentum for an Isabella vote last night and she's more likely to side with Bones than us." Jean explained.

"Alright, well, we'll see how the group feels about that." Delilah said cautiously. Lucas was about to agree, but Jean interrupted.

"Let's not tell Victoria about the backup plan, let's just tell her that the vote is for Bones."

Delilah and Lucas looked at each other, and Lucas merely shrugged. "Sure, alright."

The three went back towards the shelter, where Bones was still laying, snoring.

 _Jean (Nurse, Lembing tribe): I'd like to try to get Amber out sooner than later, because she and Victoria have a good friendship going, but I'm concerned that Amber may get Victoria on her and Bones' side before Victoria gets her on our side. Also, she's definitely someone who could sneak under the radar and make it to merge, where she could easily flip if she assumed the alliance wouldn't help her get far. I think she's a much more dangerous opponent than Bones, who hasn't really been doing much of anything lately._

 _Delilah (Pharmacist, Lembing tribe): Jean is starting to get on my nerves. We've got simple plans to follow through with, and each time she either goes against them or tries changing them. Each time it seems like she's trying to keep Bones around longer, which seems crazy because why would you keep someone who might have an idol around for longer than need be? She was my number one ally, but I'm starting to lose trust in her._

 _Bones (History Professor, Lembing tribe): One thing I've learned over my many years as an educator is how to eavesdrop on hushed conversations, so when a group of three walks about 3 yards or so away from my proximity and talk loudly so they can hear themselves over the rain, it was more or less the easiest thing to do for me to lay there with my eyes closed and listen to everything they have to say. I must admit, I'm almost embarrassed that I was almost voted out by these people._

* * *

 _Pedang Day 10_

As the day continued, the rain continued to pour all over the area, hitting Pedang just as hard, though they hardly noticed. The six of them lounged around in their shelter, most of them nearly completely dry. Ahmed was talking amiably with Otis, Marcus and Sofia were napping, and Harper and Katrina were having their own conversation. Unlike the Lembing shelter, the Pedang's had been built much bigger, with enough width for all six to lay comfortably without touching anyone if they pleased. The four members who were awake had already seen that their fire had gone out, but it didn't much matter to them as they still had three fourths of a block of flint left.

 _Ahmed (Bank Teller, Pedang tribe): Not a lot is going on over on the Pedang front today. We just sort of had a lazy morning with how the weather went, and with everyone trapped in the shelter, we all just sort of talked and hung out. It was nice._

Otis looked over at the two napping tribemates, Marcus's loud snores a common occurrence that most woke up to each morning.

"He's gotten a lot more tired lately." Otis said, scratching his chin. He had begun to grow a bit of a scraggly beard, and he wasn't too certain he liked the way it felt.

"Yes, well, I suppose the big guy isn't used to such small meals. He has a lot of muscles that need fueling." Ahmed said thoughtfully, scratching at his own, much larger beard.

"Mmhmm." Otis replied, already bored of the conversation. He had been feeling stir crazy all day, anxious to get out and do some work.

 _Otis (Postal worker, Pedang tribe): Barring an immunity win or some sort of miracle, I will be voted out next. I've made as much peace with that as one can, but it doesn't really make the prospect of continuing to talk to these people any more exciting than it was initially. I know it might seem foolish to want to do work around camp, especially when some people would rather doze off than help themselves, but it gives me something to do here._

As the two men drifted away from conversing to sitting in an awkward silence, the other conversation in the shelter was staying in a casual tone.

"What kinda art projects do ya do?" Harper asked casually, lying on her back in-between Marcus and Katrina. Katrina was sitting up, sitting closer to one of the ends of the shelter.

"Oh, I'll do some paintings here or there, maybe a sculpture. Mainly I've just been doing commissions for things lately."

"What're commissions?" Harper asked.

"When someone asks me to do a specific project for them." Katrina answered.

"Oh, ok. So do a lot of folks ask ya to do certain kindsa paintings or somethin'?"

"Uh..." Katrina gave Harper an inquisitive glance. "What kind of certain things are you talking about?"

"Well like, are a lotta the ones you get the missions or whatever for, are they like for fancy stuff like real nice lookin' paintings, or is it more uh... I dunno what kinda words you'd use." Harper said, scratching her head.

"I guess a lot of the commissions are for businesses, so it's mainly boring looking logos and whatnot. I've gotten a few personal commissions that were a bit on the fancier side. Then there were a few... weird ones." Katrina said, making a face while remembering some od requests she had gotten.

"How so?" Harper asked, sitting up a bit to pay attention.

"Well, when I was starting out I said yes to a lot of people just because I needed money. So uh... I ended up having to draw and create a lot of uh..." Katrina sighed as she considered how much to elaborate.

Harper figured she didn't want to hear the rest of the statement. "Well, at least you don't have tah do that kinda stuff anymore, right?"

Katrina smiled. "Yeah, not anymore."

"You make a lotta money doin that kinda stuff?" Harper asked.

"Enough to get by, I guess." Katrina said, though something in her tone told Harper otherwise. Despite this, she decided to drop the subject and the pair went on to talk about other things.

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang tribe): I think Kat is a real swell girl. She's nice, she's easy to talk to, she's easy on the eyes, and above all she's a real honest person. Which is good for her because she's shit at lyin'._

As the pair spoke of other things, Marcus groggily got up, stretching and yawning loudly. He looked over to the two women sitting next to him talking and smiled. He nodded to Ahmed and Otis, and decided to get out of the shelter for a bit, immediately getting drenched upon setting foot outside the shelter. He walked over to the pot, which was collecting rainwater, and dipped his hand in, getting a drink. As he let the rain wash his face, he took a good look at the five people still under the roof of the shelter.

 _Marcus (Construction worker, Pedang tribe): So far, I've been playing more of a reactionary game. The first vote and second vote were pretty simple, and even though I didn't vote the correct way the first time, I don't think I suffered for it. Now that we're down to six, with an easy vote coming up next when we lose, I think I can say with some certainty that I won't be going anytime soon. I've got a solid, more vocal ally in Harper, and she's been slowly but surely worming her way into Katrina's good side, so that'll be three, which means majority for a tribe of five._

Marcus sauntered over back to the shelter and made eye contact with Otis.

"Hey buddy, wanna help me get some more firewood?" Marcus asked innocently enough.

"Little damp for that, wouldn't you say?" Otis replied.

"Well, everything dries eventually, might as well have it dry closer to us." Marcus said with a smile, and the two were off. As the pair got out into the woods, Marcus turned to Otis.

"Otis, how good do you think your odds are of staying in the game?" Marcus asked.

"Well, I've managed to make it past two with only six votes coming at me, so I'd guess that about answers the question." Otis answered snarkily.

Marcus laughed a bit. "How would you like to improve those odds?"

Otis looked like he hadn't heard Marcus's comment, but before Marcus could ask again, Otis merely responded with: "I'm listening."

"I'd like to align with you." Marcus said.

There was a silence as Otis processed the comment.

"Alright." Otis said. "Who would we be voting?"

"Sofia." Marcus said. "Don't tell anyone I told you."

Marcus extended his hand, and Otis took it and shook it. Marcus waited around, anticipating more response out of Otis, but Otis merely grabbed some wood and headed back to camp.

 _Marcus (Construction worker, Pedang tribe): I got together with Otis and told him I'd align with him, and that we'd vote out Sofia. I don't intend for Otis to survive the next tribal, but it will put a vote on Sofia, and if tie votes are decided by past votes, that's one vote for someone who isn't me. Also, just in case Otis ever goes to Exile Island, and he finds an idol, I don't need his sole vote being against someone he thinks is on his side._

 _Otis (Postal Worker, Pedang tribe): Marcus has no good reason to align with me, he has no good reason to vote Sofia out that I know of, but I'll go along with it. What does it matter? I'll probably be going next anyway._

* * *

 _Reward Challenge_

Matthew grinned as he stood on the beach in front of the day's special reward challenge, watching the small Pedang tribe enter from the West. As they settled onto their mat, Lembing made their way over the horizon from the East. As the eight got closer, Matthew decided to make the official announcement.

"Pedang, getting your first look at the new Lembing tribe, Isabella voted out at last night's tribal council."

Pedang mostly nodded, nobody looked shocked or all that intrigued. Matthew decided to liven up the tribes a bit.

"So, Sofia, how was getting to sleep with pillows, blankets, and a hammock?" Matthew asked.

"It was pretty nice. We worked our asses off for them, so I'm glad they've been as comfortable as they are." Sofia said with a proud smile.

"Donny, has Lembing been making good use of the fishing equipment?" Matthew turned his attention to the other tribe.

Donny shrugged. "We don't really have anyone on our tribe who's a skilled fisherman, we haven't caught much of anything."

Matthew nodded. "Well, we've given you tools," he gestured to Lembing, "and we've given you guys luxuries," he then gestured to Pedang. He stepped to the side, allowing the tribe to see the course for the day 11 "challenge".

"Today, we're giving you a shot for a brand-new experience. Behind me are numbered tiles laying on the sand numbered 1 through 14. Everyone gets their own tile. Once you claim one, stand on it until everyone has found one, and then I'll announce the next part of the challenge from then. Survivors ready? Go." Matthew said nonchalantly. The two tribes both glanced around, a bit confused by their host's mannerisms and vague instructions, but soon the fourteen started moving towards the tiles, and soon each person found themselves on top of one.

"Alright, so we've got Delilah on tile number 1, Donny on tile 2, Sofia on tile 3, Marcus on tile 4, Lucas on tile 5, Ahmed on tile 6, Jean on tile 7, Amber on tile 8, Victoria on tile 9, Harper on tile 10, Katrina on tile 11, Otis on tile 12, Nathan on tile 13, and finally Bones on tile 14." Matthew said. He grinned as the fun part was about to begin. "One at a time, each contestant will flip up their tile and take what's underneath. In this challenge, everyone gets a reward."

The two tribes all looked happy at the news that everyone was getting something out of this challenge.

"Delilah, you may flip over your tile."

Delilah eagerly flipped over her tile, and her heart nearly stopped as the item underneath was revealed.

"Ah, a gray buff. That means Delilah will now be the first member of the new Pedang tribe." Matthew said, taking great joy from the shock on Delilah's face, as well as most of the cast's faces. "That's right folks, today we're doing a tribe swap. Drop your buffs."

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Donny muttered, burying his hands in his face. Victoria's mouth hung open in surprise. A majority of the cast gave some sort of surprised or devastated reaction, with the exception of the three men who stood at the back, who were either grinning from ear to ear or doing their best to suppress their happiness.

 _Nathan (model, ?): HELL YES! Oh I have been waiting for this moment for soooooo long. I finally get to get out of Lembing! This is what I prayed for this morning, so thanks for listenin' Jesus._

"Alright, Donny, let's see what tribe you'll be on." Matthew continued as Delilah slowly made her way up to the Pedang tribe mat.

Donny slowly flipped over his tile and revealed a brown buff.

"Donny, first member of the new Lembing tribe, and first contestant to stay on the same tribe. Sofia, your turn."

Sofia flipped over her tile, revealing a gray buff.

"Sofia, joins Delilah on the new Pedang tribe. Marcus up next."

Marcus cautiously flipped over his tile and was relieved to find another gray buff.

"Marcus stays on Pedang with Sofia and new tribe member Delilah."

Marcus and Sofia gave each other a quick hug, and both offered one to a very awkward looking Delilah.

"Lucas, you're up next."

Lucas flipped over his tile, revealing a brown buff. He took it and walked back to the Lembing mat, hugging Donny, who smiled on the outside.

"Lucas, joining Donny back on Lembing, now new Pedang members on Lembing yet, we could just have old tribal lines with Delilah being the one switch. Up next, Ahmed."

Ahmed rubbed his hands together and bent down to flip the tile.

"Ahmed joins Donny and Lucas as the first person to swap tribes."

Ahmed took the buff without hesitation and moved to the brown mat, receiving handshakes from the two men already there. From the Pedang mat, Sofia looked a bit miffed to see her closest ally separated from her. She held out hope that Katrina could still make it onto the Pedang tribe.

"Jean, you're up next."

Jean flipped over the tile and smiled as she pulled up a Pedang buff.

"Thank God." Delilah muttered to herself as her close ally walked up to the Pedang mat, giving out hugs to all the members. Jean also looked pretty happy to be on the new Pedang tribe.

"That brings us to Amber on tile number 8." Matthew said, observing the mechanic bouncing on her toes. "You excited?"

"Anxious to get it over with." Amber said with a smile. Matthew nodded. "Go ahead."

Amber quickly flipped the tile, revealing a brown buff.

"Amber, first woman on the new Lembing tribe."

Amber quickly scampered over to the brown mat, receiving a hug from Donny and Ahmed.

"Up next is Victoria."

The youngest member of the cast sluggishly stepped off of her tile.

 _Victoria (Student, ?): On the one hand, if I end up with Lembing, I get to hang out with Amber in the majority, but I also have to deal with Lucas some more. On the other hand, if I end up on Pedang, I get to hang out with Jean, but I don't know if we'll have a majority over there._

She flipped the tile to reveal a brown buff.

"Victoria joins Amber, Lucas, Donny, and Ahmed on the new Lembing tribe, starting to look suspiciously like the old Lembing tribe with one new member. Harper, you're up next."

Harper took a deep breath as she got off of her tile, clenching and unclenching her fists as she lowered down to flip the tile. She lifted it to reveal the same color of buff she'd been wearing that morning.

"Harper is going back to Pedang's camp."

Harper shot a fist up at the sky and shouted in jubilation. She got to return to camp with one of her closest friends. As she excitedly made her way back to the brown mat, she turned to see Katrina getting ready to flip her own tile.

"Katrina, getting right into it, and reveals a gray buff. She'll be joining former tribemate Ahmed on Lembing."

While Harper's look of glee broke down into a gloomier, pity filled smile towards her friend, Katrina gave her a quick toothy grin before joining the others on the gray mat. She gave everyone a big hug, which was returned earnestly by most, and awkwardly by Lucas and Victoria.

"Alright, we have three left. There are five people on Pedang and six on Lembing. Otis, go ahead and flip your tile." Matthew requested.

Otis casually got off of his tile and flipped it, revealing a brown buff. He dutifully put it on his head, trudging his way back to the brown mat, receiving greetings from Jean, Delilah, and much more relieved members Marcus, Sofia, and Harper.

 _Marcus: (Construction worker, Pedang): I could've jumped for joy when I saw Otis walk over to our mat, and that's probably the first and only time I'll ever say something like that. We've got a four-person majority on this tribe, and that's probably the best thing to happen to Pedang, and more specifically me, since this game started._

Matthew turned over to Bones and Nathan, who were standing on the last two tiles.

"Alright, the tribes are nearly finished. Now, when you all came down here, the tribe divide was eight to six, due to challenge losses by the old Pedang tribe." Matthew stated. He watched Nathan put his arm around the professor's shoulders. "However, the new tribes will be divided equally, and so one of you will be heading back to Lembing, and the other will be the final member of Pedang."

Nathan's arm fell back to his side as he gave the host a glare, who shrugged pathetically as he motioned towards the two.

"Go ahead, the both of you, and step off of your tiles."

They both did as they were instructed, and as they saw the colors of their buffs, they both felt the same rush of disappointment and anger, though it was much less hidden on one of the men's faces.

"Son of a bitch." Nathan muttered through gritted teeth as he pulled up a familiar gray buff. He snatched it off of the ground, crumpled it, and stuck it in his pants pocket. Bones gingerly plucked the brown buff from where he was standing, trying his best to hide the grimace he felt naturally coming to his face.

Matthew smiled as the last two took their sides on opposing mats. "Alright, with that we've got our new tribes. Pedang, Lembing, I hope the next two days go well in your new tribes, because for one of you, that's all the time you'll have to enjoy them. Have fun, head on out."

The two tribes departed in opposite directions, with the general moods of both groups being that of uncertainty, tension, and a substantial amount of frustration.

* * *

 _Pedang Day 11_

As the Pedang tribe of seven made their way back to camp, there was very little talking. The group merely looked towards the direction of the camp, hardly anyone overjoyed at the prospect of the coming conversations. There were two distinct moods that could be felt, and it was divided by original tribal lines.

 _Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang tribe): It's definitely awkward coming back to camp. I mean yeah, I probably shouldn't complain. I mean, I'm coming back to the camp I helped build and I'm in a majority of people I trusted to begin with... well, alright, the two people I trusted the most are gone, but the tribe is still a majority Pedang, and it's going to take some effort to screw that up. Still though, it's weird coming back with three people I don't know, let alone people that I originally was competing against. It'll take some getting used to, but hopefully we'll be able to work well together._

 _Delilah (Pharmacist, Pedang tribe): This is a terrible situation. I went from one of the most powerful people on the winning tribe to someone in the minority on the loser tribe. That sure as hell doesn't spell good things for me. I need to find a way to crack the old Pedang members, otherwise I might as well start packing my bags._

There was, however, a third differing opinion as to the results of the tribe swap.

 _Otis (Postal worker, Pedang): I'm beginning to think God has some sort of fun with screwing with me. I come close to being the first boot, but I survive. I get targeted again, Terri annoys Sofia and Katrina and gets voted off. I'm the definite next boot after Julio wins immunity... and now I'm sitting on a completely new tribe where there is no good reason for me to be voted out. That doesn't mean I'm comfortable, I'm sure I'll still manage to find a way to get votes at tribal council, but I definitely have someone up on high looking out for me._

As the tribe arrived at the new campsite, interactions were underway as the three original Lembings and four original Pedang members shared in handshakes, hugs, and kind words. They got into a large circle, and went in order introducing themselves.

"Pleased to meet you all." Bones said, looking around with lazy eyes and a casual grin. "My name is Qunicy, but as you've most likely have heard me referred to as, I also go by the name Bones. I'm a history professor from New York City."

"Get outa here, you're from NYC, too?" Marcus said, letting his natural accent slip a bit. He had been trying to keep it hidden and had managed to successfully hide it from most of his tribemates, but he had gotten excited to see someone from his own home city.

"You betcha ass." Bones said, embracing the accent to an exaggerated degree. Marcus laughed, though his reaction was dwarfed by Jean's and Delilah's, who both gave Bones a look as if he had sprouted an extra head.

 _Bones (History Professor, Pedang tribe): I'm not from New York City, New York. I'm from San Diego, California. However, I haven't disclosed this information to anyone, seeing as nobody has ever bothered to ask. I'd also like to thank Marcus for wearing a tank top shirt that proudly displayed an 'NYC' tattoo that sits on his arm. I'd also like to thank a few of my students for showing me movies such as Donnie Brasco and Gangs of New York during some of our days where I didn't have any classwork planned._

Jean gave her introduction, a small bit on the small town outside of Des Moines where she was from, and how long she had been working as a nurse. Delilah gave a short bit on being from Canada, then moving to Nashville when she was in her teens, and how she worked as a pharmacist. Marcus walked at length about his construction job in New York City, doing his best to regain control of his accent. Harper gave a few words about her ranch back in Kansas, and Sofia mentioned her house near Yellowstone in Montana. The former Lembings looked to Otis, expecting him to chime in with a little tidbit about himself, but instead he just started walking out into the woods.

"What's his name?" Delilah asked as the tribe started walking to the shelter, pointing in the direction Otis departed.

"That's Otis." Marcus said dismissively. Delilah and Jean shared a look, and Sofia tried elaborating.

"He doesn't talk much, but he's a sweet guy. He does a lot of work around camp, and he's probably out gathering wood right now."

"Oh... ok." Delilah said, still looking and sounding a bit confused.

As the tribe got to the shelter, the new Pedang members were in awe of not just the blankets and pillows that Pedang had won in the last challenge, but also just the well-structured shelter as a whole. Jean gave an impressed whistle. "This shelter looks amazing. How long have you all been working on it?"

Sofia shrugged. "Marcus and Harper did a lot of work on it initially, and then Julio and Otis have been making slight adjustments ever since."

 _Jean (Nurse, Pedang tribe): I'm still not a fan of how the tribe swap turned out numbers-wise, but I'll readily admit the Pedang tribe has not only been much more calm and inviting than I would've expected, but their camp is so much nicer than ours. It's almost embarrassing._

Jean nodded, and then looked over to Sofia. "Sorry to hear about what happened to Julio, by the way. Terrible way to go out."

Sofia smiled at the condolence. "Yeah... I'm sure he's already doing better."

Harper joined in. "Oh yeah, guy was tough, no way he's letting that infection keep him down."

Soon the entire tribe was talking amiably with each other, even Otis who came back late with an impressive pile of wood restarting the new fire. Bones offered to make the new fire using the flint, regaling the original Pedang four of how he'd done it the first time without the aid of flint. As he got to chopping, he was able to get some sparks flying, and in about three minutes, the Pedang camp once again had a nice, toasty fire. The tribe celebrated the return of one of the most important resources.

 _Marcus (Construction Worker, Pedang tribe): I think the new Pedang tribe is going great. I was a bit skeptical when we first picked up the new guys, but they seem to be pretty good. Jean seems like she's pretty smart, or at the very least kind of motherly. Delilah seems kind of uppity but she also seems pretty tough. That Quincy guy, or Bones or whatever, he is just full of personality. I think we definitely got some members from the other tribe that had it good over there. I'm gonna like getting to know them._

As the sun moved down to the West, the tribe gathered around the fire, swapping stories and jokes. Marcus sat in-between Bones and Harper. He saw the old Pedang on one side, and the old Lembing on the other. He smiled, seeing the advantage he would have for the upcoming nine days.

 _Marcus (Construction Worker, Pedang tribe): I'm gonna like getting rid of these people even more._

* * *

 _Lembing Day 11_

Katrina had been at the Lembing camp for all of about ten minutes when she came to a conclusion about the Lembing tribe. They sucked. She and Ahmed had been welcomed with open arms, the rest of the Lembings each giving them hugs and introductions. However, after about two minutes of that, Donny and Lucas went off to go work on the shelter, which after getting a peek at both Ahmed and Katrina grimaced. Amber and Victoria had gone off to go get water, and Nathan had once again wandered off into the woods. This left Ahmed and Katrina alone together, standing in the middle of camp with little to do.

 _Ahmed (Bank Teller, Lembing tribe): I don't imagine that the Lembing tribe really had much time to roll out the red carpet for the two of us, but even with that in mind, our uh... acceptance into the tribe was a bit miniscule. More or less everyone just came, told us their name, and then left. That, combined with the shelter, which looks like it was made under protest, makes for a very poor first impression of the tribe._

Katrina also had a few choice words on the subject.

 _Katrina (Artist, Lembing tribe): This is bullsh*t. This entire twist, the tribe swap, it's stupid. I hate it. Everything about this is such a downgrade. We had people who talked at Pedang, we don't have that here. We had flint to start a fire at Pedang, we don't have that here. We had a shelter that looked like an actual shelter instead of... I don't know, the after picture of a house that went through a natural disaster._

Katrina and Ahmed watched wordlessly as Donny and Lucas tried in vain to get a bamboo pole to balance between two tree trunks, only to have it fall over and over again.

 _Katrina (Artist, Lembing tribe): This is the tribe that's been beating us? How?... HOW?_

As the two former Pedang members continued to sulk at camp, a different pair was also giving thought to how terrible their situation was.

"I do not envy them in the slightest." Amber said, pulling up the bucket of water from the well. She and Victoria had been celebrating managing to stay on the same tribe with each other.

"I just feel bad for Jean and Delilah over on Pedang. They really got screwed over by the swap." Vicotria said, a little saddened that the one person in her alliance she actually liked was gone. She had been a bit shaken up when Jean revealed the Pedang buff, but was able to cope knowing she still had one good friend on a tribe where she was in the majority.

"And Bones." Amber added quietly, also missing her old buddy.

"Honestly, I think Bones might be in a good spot." Victoria said, moving her canteen to the well so Amber could pour into it. Amber gave her an inquisitive look, so she elaborated. "Well, he nearly got voted out two nights ago, and now he might be in the minority, but I feel like if they lose a challenge, they might take out someone who is a little bit more central to Lembing."

Amber took pause as she listened to Victoria's explanation.

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing tribe): Any time I hear strategy talk from Victoria, it always reminds me how much smarter she is than I think a lot of people give her credit for. She managed to get on a majority alliance, stick with it to control a vote, AND she's already trying to figure out who the first boot on their side will be._

"My bet is they boot Delilah first. I think they're gonna find her to be too high strung, and they'll probably guess that she was in good with Lembing. They're bound to know Bones was probably on the outs, so they might even try to wrangle him in, give the Pedang tribe more numbers once merge hits." Victoria continued, happy to be able to talk strategy with someone who wouldn't argue or interrupt her every five minutes. "Jean might have a shot at staying, I think she's smart enough to keep her head low for now."

"That sounds good. In the meantime, what should we do... on this tribe, right now?" Amber asked, hoping to move the conversation towards something she had been meaning to get to.

"Well, I think we just hang out, not stir up anything, and just keep tight with the five person majority." Victoria said.

"Alright. Sounds good. I think I'm still going to give the new guys a bit more of an introduction. They're jsut sort of sitting around lookin dead inside right now." Amber said. After a small pause, Amber decided to try to play out what she had been planning to do for a while.

"I want to make a deal with you." Amber said, looking Victoria in the eyes, trying to shift the conversation to a more serious and less casual tone. Victoria looked a bit surprised by the sudden change in Amber's demeanor, but just nodded, letting Amber continue.

"I want us to be the final 2. I promise you right now I will not vote against you, nor will I keep any secrets from you." Amber said. Victoria raised her eyebrows at the offer, but put on a grateful smile.

"I think that sounds like a great idea. I'd be all for that." Victoria said. Amber smiled back, and the two gave a small fist bump.

"Awesome."

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing tribe): With Jean and Delilah gone, there are only three people in the alliance on this tribe. I didn't think Amber and Nathan would hook up with the Pedangs, but I still was a bit concerned. But now that Amber has made that final 2 deal, I'm sitting way more comfortably. I think I can definitely trust her, and I do think it might be good for me to go all the way with her... game wise I mean, that's what- I meant like we should go to the end of the game, together._

As the girls finished getting water, Nathan was just about to get ready going back to camp. He was carrying back a pot load of mangos and papayas, about seven of each. As he trudged along, he lamented about his new status in the tribe.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing tribe): I'm uh... I'm not happy with how the switch happened. I had an opportunity to get out of Lembing, and I'm still here. And Bones is gone._ (There's a pause as Nathan looks off before sighing and looking down at the ground before continuing.) _This probably couldn't have gone worse for me. I just... I really hope these two new people either leave quick or end up being actual fun and decent people. Cuz otherwise I might as well just start living out in the woods. Say screw Lembing and just live out here._

Nathan arrived back at the tribe to see Amber talking animatedly with Katrina. The two of them seemed to be bonding over something.

"So you're from Watseka?" Amber asked. Katrina nodded.

"My family used to live there. Then we moved out west to San Francisco when I was about thirteen." Katrina explained casually. "I don't remember an awful lot about Watseka, other than we lived in a crummy neighborhood and the one time I tried opening a lemonade stand, some high school douchebag came and kicked it over."

"Oh no." Amber said, her eyes widening and her hand going over her mouth.

"Eh, it's alright. My mom was there within seconds and chewed him out. She made him pay for all the lemonade supplies and an extra five dollars as an apology." Amber giggled as Nathan walked away. He walked to camp to see Ahmed trying to help Donny and Lucas make progress on the shelter. Nathan's shoulders slumped as he sat by the extinguished fire pit.

* * *

 _Pedang Day 12_

As the new day began for Pedang, three members of the tribe were wide awake, and for once, one of them was Marcus. He, along with Sofia and Harper, stood down the beach, far away from hearing range of the other four slumbering Pedang members.

"So, what were yah wantin' to talk about, buddy?" Harper asked. Marcus had told the two of them to wake him up early that morning to talk the night before. They had oblidged, but didn't know if he wanted to have Otis join in on the conversation, so they let him sleep.

"I think we should throw today's immunity challenge." Marcus said, looking between the two to see their reactions. Sofia kept a good poker face, not changing anything in her expression. Meanwhile, Harper looked a bit startled.

"You're sayin' we should lose the challenge on purpose?" Harper asked.

"Yeah, I think we need to do that." Marcus said firmly.

"Why... why in the hell would we willin'ly go to tribal council for?" Harper asked. She thought it was the dumbest thing she had ever heard.

"We've got a majority on this tribe." Marcus stated, pointing to each of the three of them and then over to Otis, who was still laying with the others in the shelter. "That means we control the votes over here."

"Yeah, but that don't mean we gotta use it any time soon, we could just win the next challenge and still have a majority." Harper said, looking to Sofia for some backup on this.

"Which would mean that either Katrina or Ahmed goes home." Sofia said evenly. The sentence took the wind out Harper's sails a bit, and Marcus smiled, knowing Sofia was on his wavelength now.

Sofia (Park ranger, Pedang tribe): I don't know if I share Marcus's excitement for the idea of throwing a challenge. I don't know if I really LIKE Marcus's excitement for throwing a challenge. However, he brings up a good point in trying to save Katrina and Ahmed. Seeing as those are the only two people I have any real trust in, it would definitely be better for me to try and keep them.

"We don't..." Harper started, but after giving it more thought she sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "We're gonna look real scummy if we do this."

"We're gonna look real smart when we do this." Marcus ammended. He put his hand on Harper's shoulder. "I won't force you to do this if you feel unfomcortable with it, but I think it's something that needs to happen."

Harper looked at the ocean for a while, depe in thought, but eventually turned back to Marcus. "Alright. I'll go along with it. I aint gonna like it, and if it ends up biting us in the ass, you better believe I'm gonna tell you I told you so."

Marcus grinned and gave Harper a hug. "Oh I know you will." Harper returned the hug. Marcus looked over to Sofia. "Are you good with the plan, too? I want to make sure we're all on the same page."

Sofia merely nodded. "Yeah, makes sense to me. I'm just concerned that the other tribe might think of the same thing, and four people trying to throw the challenge versus five people trying to throw the challenge might not be so good for us."

Marcus shrugged. "Well, they've got two pretty athletic people on their tribe that'll be trying their damndest to win. We've got one athletic person and a fat nurse and a senior citizen. So long as this challenge isn't a puzzle, we're good to go." Harper gave Marcus a side-eye glare on the fat comment.

Sofia thought about Marcus's assessment and was tempted to agree. However, it did bring another thought to Sofia's head. "Should we tell Otis about the plan?"

"Who cares, it's not like it's going to have a big impact on the tribe's performance either way." Marcus said dismissively. Sofia never really cared for Marcus's general apathy or mockery of their tribemate, but she kept quiet about it for now. The three shook hands that they would follow through with trying to throw the challenge.

 _Marcus (Construction worker, Pedang tribe): When we throw this challenge, it'll benefit everybody. We got the numbers over here, we got the power in our alliance to throw any kind of challenge that comes our way. We've got tribal council on lock, and we protect Kat and Ahmed over on the other tribe. I don't really have strong ties with either one of them, but I'm just eager to vote off one of the Lembings._

As they went back to camp, they saw Jean still asleep in the shelter, and Bones slowly waking up.

"Hey Bones, have a good night's sleep?" Sofia asked cheerfully.

"Oh it was superb. I had forgotten how lovely it was to sleep above a solid bed frame." Bones said, stretching and smiling.

"I'm gonna go out and get tree mail." Harper anounced, but Bones put up a hand.

"No need," he said, "Otis and Delilah went out to retreive it just as I was waking. They'll likely be back in a minute or two."

Harper bit her lip, but said nothing and sat back down in the tribe shelter.

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang tribe): I don't see this goin well for us. Yeah, we got four people on our tribe, but all it takes is one person tah flip, n' then we're screwed. I don't see Marcus bailin' on Pedang, I don't know Sofia too well, but I don' think she'd flip. Otis... well..._

Meanwhile, on the route to treemail, Delilah was contemplating how best to try to work Otis over to her side. She and Jean had been talking the night before on which of the Pedang's would be the most likely to flip, and it eventually landed on Otis. Jean was skeptical on the idea, and figured they might just be using Otis as a distraction, with him just pretending to be the loner of the group so they'd waste time trying to get him to their side. Delilah thought the idea was nonsense, and eventually she was able to convince Jean that trying to get Otis on their side was worth the effort. She and Bones both woke up early to see the other three Pedang members down the beach talking, and Delilah was delighted to see Otis wake up at around the same time so he could see it to. Whether he had a good poker or he didn't care, it didn't seem to make an impact on him that the others were talking without him, but Delilah figured she could prod into that later.

As the two arrived at treemail, Delilah made her pitch. "So Otis, how was it back on old Pedang?"

"How was what back on old Pedang?" Otis asked. He was more interested in what was in treemail than the conversation. As he opened the lid, Delilah continued.

"Well, were you in a pretty good position, were you about to get voted out, what was the deal?" Delilah figured the best way to negotiate was to be as straightforward as possible. When she received no answer from Otis, she decided to try to entice him to give up some information by giving some of her own.

"I can tell you that I'm glad I switched from Lembing." She lied, trying to sound grateful and happy. "On the one tribal council we had, I ended up on the wrong side of the votes, and one of the people in my alliance was voted off."

Otis responded with a bored "Sorry to hear."

 _Delilah (Pharmacist, Pedang tribe): Talking strategy with Otis is infuriating. He gives you nothing to go off of, he doesn't ever look like he's listeneing, and above all it's just annoying that this might be the guy who saves my life in this game, and I'm not sure whether or not his hearing aids are turned up enough to hear anything I'm saying._

Delilah made a face at the lack of reaction she was getting, but she continued on nevertheless.

"I just think that this tribe swap helped me out, and it might help you out, too. It doesn't look like you gel well with your tribe, and if the Lembing people get voted off, you'll probably be the first Pedang person they get rid of." Delilah was sure to get a response from him on this, and went to continue, but was interrupted by Otis, who was looking at treemail.

"Looks like we're going to be hitting people with things."

 _Otis (Postal worker, Pedang tribe): At this point in time, I'm willing to do whatever. I don't hold any particular loyalty to Sofia or Harper, but Marcus offered to try to help me back on old Pedang. Delilah is offering a lot of information, but I know this is all out of desperation. I get the feeling she'd be a lot less talkative if her ass wasn't on the line._

* * *

 _Lembing Tribe Day 12_

"You'll need to be swift, in duels you'll clash,

you'll need to be tougher, so you can outlast,

knock off your opponent, cause a big splash,

for the losing tribe, someone's flame turns to ash."

A majority of the Lembing tribe had gathered by the shelter to listen to Victoria read treemail. Ahmed and Katrina had gone out to collect food and firewood, giving Nathan a break from the job. Lucas swished around some coconut water in his mouth before swallowing and speaking up.

"Alright, if we're doing duels of some kind, I'd guess that means we're going on a one on one sort of thing." Lucas stated, and looked around to see bored looks of agreement. "So if that's the case, we might have to sit someone out."

"What makes you say that?" Donny asked.

"Well, the duels might end up being man vs man and woman vs woman, and there are different numbers of those on both sides, so we'd probably have to sit out a guy and they'd have to sit out a girl." Lucas deduced.

Amber seemed unsure but shrugged. "Alright, better to plan and not need than need and not plan. Which one of you boys wants to sit this one out?"

Lucas took another swig before divulging his idea for the upcoming challenge. "I think we try to convince Ahmed to sit out."

Nathan nodded in agreement. "He is probably the weakest person on the tribe right now, I agree." Nathan expected that to be Lucas's reasoning, but Lucas shook his head.

"That's not it. I don't want Ahmed to play because he'll want to win the challenge." Lucas said. This garnered odd looks from the other four, however after a moment's worth of thought, Victoria, Donny, and Amber both understood what he meant. Nathan still looked confused.

"I feel like we all want to win the challenge though, don't we?" Nathan asked. Lucas gave the young man a withering glance.

"Not if we want to make sure Delilah, Jean, and Bones stay safe." Lucas said, making sure to add in Bones at the end because he knew Nathan was one of the only two people who cared for the old man.

Nathan finally caught on to what Lucas was suggesting. "Aw man, hell nah." Nathan looked disgusted.

Lucas remained adamant. "We have to throw this challenge. There are three Lembings over there and five over here. We've got a majority over here, we control things over here, we should be the ones to lose this challenge."

Nathan shook his head, his long, shaggy hair whipping swaying to and fro. "I aint throwing a challenge, and that's that, man. I don't care what kind of mentality you throw at me, throwing a challenge isn't smart."

Lucas's face soured at the response. He made to retort, but Victoria spoke first.

"Nathan, we're trying to protect our own here. We're trying to help Lembing. Do you want one of those three to go home?"

"I don't want me to go home, and I figure you guys don't want you to go home. How do we make sure we don't go home? Win immunity!" Nathan yelled, feeling a mix of disbelief and rising anger.

"Nathan, don't be stupid, nobody here is going to vote you off." Lucas said, his voice growing louder as he was getting a bit riled up as well.

Donny got in-between the two. "Guys, tone it down. Now, we can either discuss this like adults, or we can yell and holler and maybe bring in Ahmed and Katrina to discuss this since they'll be able to hear what we're saying anyway."

Nathan and Lucas gave each other a slight glare, but both agreed to calm themselves. Victoria sighed, rolling her eyes at the two. Meanwhile, Donny was looking over at Amber.

"Hey Amber, you've been quiet. Are you alright with throwing the challenge?" Donny asked. Amber had been looking down at the ground, appearing deep in thought. Donny's question snapped her back to attention, and now everyone was looking at her.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds good." Amber said. Everyone went back to ignoring her, save for Donny who's gaze lingered on her a bit before going back to the conversation.

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing tribe): I'd love to win today's challenge. Like Victoria said earlier, when Pedang loses, there's little chance of Bones going first. So if either Jean or Delilah go... oh well. (Amber snickers to herself.) Oh, I'm not going to come off well saying stuff like that. Seriously though, I'm more than happy with either of them getting the boot. If they get voted off, then we can start throwing challenges over here, get rid of Ahmed and Katrina, and then Lembing still has an advantage of six to four come merge and I don't have to worry about an alliance of five that I'm not in making it to the end._

 _Donny (Firefighter, Lembing tribe): Amber always plays up an act of not knowing what's going on or pretending like she's not really listening. When I talk with Victoria, she says Amber hardly says anything strategic, but then Amber was the one who sort of led the charge against Isabella, and she's in good with Bones, which would lead me to believe she's got a good relationship with Nathan that I'm not aware of._

The five Lembings agreed to disagree on whether or not to throw the challenge, and split off to go do their work around camp. However, one person who went to work on the shelter was still thinking plenty about the challenge.

 _Donny (Firefighter, Lembing tribe): Truth be told, I'm not sure I want Ahmed to sit out this challenge. While I haven't really talked to him, I think he deserves to fight for his shot to stay in the game. I could try to get Nathan to sit out, but I feel like he'd turn that down as well. So, if all else fails, I might have to take this into my own hands._

* * *

 _Immunity Challenge_

Matthew stood on a floating platform, loosely connected with rope to two other rectangular platforms, one painted brown and one painted gray. They formed a semi-circle around another floating platform in the water, this one more circular in shape, with two large padded bags on them. The challenge setup was 20 feet from shore as the tribes walked up to the beach. The host motioned for them to come over, and they swam out to meet him. Once each tribe got to their respective platforms, Matthew started his usual challenge schpeel.

"Tribal immunity is back up for grabs. Today's challenge is simple in design and execution. Both tribes will send out one member each round to go to the center platform where they will try to knock the other person off of the platform using a large padded duffel bag. The first person to fall off the ring into the water loses, and the first tribe to win 7 rounds win the challenge and is safe from tribal council tonight, losers will vote out a member from their new tribe. Now, the rules of the challenge aren't hard to follow, just keep both hands on the bag, and no kicking. Everything else is fair game. The challenge will be man vs man and woman vs woman, so Pedang, you will sit out one woman, Lembing, you will sit out one man. Pedang, who are you sitting out? Remember, a person can't sit out in back to back challenges, Jean will have to compete."

"I'll be sitting out." Sofia said, raising her hand. Before Matthew could ask the question on Lembing, one member raised his hand right away.

"I'll be sitting out for us." Donny said, somewhat bitterly. Lucas cocked an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. Nathan gave a grim nod.

"Alright, I'll let you guys decide your battle order, and then we can get started."

...

"Alright. Both tribes have selected their orders. First up, Marcus from Pedang taking on Nathan from lembing. NYC taking on LA." Matthew announced as the two men swam over to the circular platform. They hopped up, shook hands, and grabbed a bag. They got in the starting positions. Both tribes were giving whoops and hollers of encouragement.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

The two men rushed at each other, Marcus going for a high attack on Nathan's head and Nathan kept it low, aiming for the big man's legs. Nathan connected first, crashing into Marcus's legs and causing the construction worker to fall hard onto the platform. Nathan used the momentum to keep pushing Marcus as he laid down on the platform, and quicker than anyone would've expected, Marcus was in the water.

"Marcus, first in the water. Nathan wins the round, Lembing is up 1-0! Next round!"

Marcus cautiously got on the Pedang platform, holding the side that he fell down on. He received a few pats on the back, and Amber from the other tribe sent her condolences in the form of a grimace as she noticed a large bruise on the side of his stomach.

The next pair consisted of Harper for Pedang and Victoria for Lembing.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

Both women tried to keep low, and the bags crashed off of each other on impact, Harper forced back a bit by the blow. Victoria ran to hit her again, but Harper was able to skirt out of the way, and as Victoria tried to turn, Harper gave a great push and sent Victoria stumbling to the edge of the platform. Victoria quickly got up, but Harper was on her yet again and with one final push, sent Victoria over the edge.

"Victoria hits the water. Harper wins the round, score is tied 1-1! Next round."

The next pair had Otis going against Ahmed. A few of the Pedang members cheered half heartedly for Otis, while nobody felt the need to cheer on Lembing.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

Otis darted forward, slamming his bag against Ahmed's head. Ahmed, for his part, didn't move an inch, and hunched low to get a good hit on Otis's gut. The blow managed to knock Otis back a few feet, towards the edge of the mat, but he quickly got up and rushed forward again. He got another good sock at Ahmed's face, but Ahmed grappled Otis using the side of the bag and shoved him to the left. Once again Otis fell precariously near the edge, but once again he recovered.

"So far this seems to be the closest match up, neither of the guys going down easy!" Matthew narrated, and indeed the tribes were suddenly much more invested in what they would've assumed was an easy match. Pedang was now full steam cheering Otis on.

Otis rushed Ahmed again, this time putting all of his weight into charging the large man. Ahmed looked as if he was going to brace for the impact, but at the last second tried dodging it. This ended up not working as Otis was able to still connect, and the bank teller lost his footing and fell down. Otis, who was visibly panting, quickly tried to capitalize off of this and started shoving Ahmed, but Ahmed got back up and started shoving Otis back, and between the two, Ahmed was able to get more mileage out of the tussle and started slowly pushing Otis towards the edge, and finally was able to knock his former tribe member off.

"Otis in the water, Ahmed wins another point for Lembing. Lembing up 2-1."

Ahmed went back to his platform, where he got pats on the back from Katrina, Nathan, and Amber. Otis went back to the Pedang platform, where he received hugs and congratulations for managing to stay in for so long. Otis got on his platform and flopped down on the ground, exhausted.

"Next round is Delilah for Pedang taking on Katrina for Lembing. The doctor taking on the artist."

"Is every other round gonna get a tagline now?" Katrina asked, not taking her eyes off of Delilah.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

Both women rushed forward, aiming high, and both ended up connecting with the others' face. Katrina stumbled back a bit from the blow, allowing Delilah time to try and attack again. However, as Delilah rushed forward once more, Katrina spun out of the way, and crouched low to try to sweep Delilah's legs. Delilah fell hard, landing awkwardly on her elbow. Katrina took the moment to quickly shove Delilah, and Delilah went overboard.

"Katrina wins a very intense round, Lembing now up 3-1. Next round."

As Delilah made her way back to the platform, she noticed that everyone on her tribe was looking at her with concern.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Your head is bleeding." Otis said, still laying on his back.

"Oh sh*t." Delilah said as she raised her hand to her forehead, feeling a cut that spread across the tops of her eyebrows.

Matthew gave a quick look over at Delilah, who was receiving Marcus's shirt to help wrap around the wound. "Are you alright, Delilah? Will we need to bring in medical?"

"No, nah, I'm good." Delilah said, anxious to keep competing in the challenge.

"Alright. Next pair, Bones from Pedang taking on Lucas from Lembing. Another case of former tribemates now squaring off against each other."

The two men shook hands as they got onto the platform, both grinning at each other and exchanging pleasantries.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

Neither man made any attempt to move initially, both bracing up expecting the other to make the first attack. Bones broke the awkward stand still by rushing forward and trying to whack Lucas on the head. Lucas casually side stepped, expecting Bones to stop and readjust his attack, but Bones instead slipped on a puddle of water and went right off the side of the platform.

"Lucas, wins the round for Lembing, score is now 4-1, we're playing to 7."

Lucas raised an eyebrow at Bones before going back to his own platform.

"Last matchup of the first heat, Jean from Pedang going against Amber for Lembing."

As the two got on the platform, Amber was nervously mouthing to Jean "Please don't hit me too hard." Jean, for her part, smiled.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

Amber squeaked as Jean rushed her, launching the tiny mechanic into the water behind her. Jean casually put the bag down and made her way back to the Pedang platform as some cheers rose up from her tribe.

"Quick round. Jean scores a point for Pedang, putting it at 2-4. Next heat will have different match ups. First pair will be Amber for Lembing taking on Delilah for Pedang."

Amber hesitantly retrieved her bag again as she squared off against Delilah, who was giving her an intense stare down. Amber felt the need to be anywhere else in the world at that moment.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

Delilah rushed forward, hoping to knock Amber in easily once again. However, Amber was able to dodge this time. She tried swinging at Delilah's legs, but the pharmacist nimbly dodged the counterattack and gave Amber a great shove. Amber tried to stay on, but the increasingly more slippery platform gave her little traction, and for the second time in a row Amber went over the side of the platform.

"Amber, in yet again for Lembing. Delilah scores a point for Pedang, now 3-4. Next pair up to battle, Bones for Pedang taking on Nathan for Lembing."

As the two men got to the duel platform, Amber meekly made her way back to the Lembing platform. She was greeted with looks of sympathy, and one of approval from Lucas, who flashed her a thumbs up that only she saw.

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing tribe): Well shit, so much for trying to help win the challenge and screw with Lucas's alliance._

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): I was trying my best to throw my round against Bones without it seeming too obvious, but that didn't work because I forgot Bones is about as strong and heavy as a kitten. So props to Amber for being a team player and throwing both of her rounds. I was a bit concerned about her cooperating, but she's proving to be trustworthy here._

Meanwhile, the two men about to duel met on the platform, exchanging smiles. Bones' was more energetic while Nathan's was more sympathetic.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

Nathan calmly walked over to Bones and began pushing the professor slowly but with force. Bones tried in vain to try to sidestep Nathan's calm attack, but Nathan kept a handle on the situation and carefully pushed Bones off the platform.

"Nathan wins a very unenthusiastic round, bringing Lembing up to five to Pedang's three. Next round."

As Bones made his way back to the Pedang platform, he received annoyed glares from both Jean and Delilah.

"Next round is Jean for Pedang taking on Victoria for Lembing. Jean looking to try to even the scores a little bit, Victoria looking to increase the lead."

The pair got up on the platform, Victoria flashing Jean a cheeky grin, and Jean giving a small, loving smile in return.

"Survivors ready? Go!"

The two women rushed forward, Jean keeping low and aiming for Victoria's stomach. Right before they collided, Victoria tried to swerve out of the way of the attack, but Jean kept on her and was able to knock her off her feet with a forceful push to the legs. Victoria landed hard on the platform. She quickly tried to recover, but was knocked down once again by Jean, who continued shoving her until they got to the edge. Victoria quickly rolled out of the way and managed to get back up on her feet. She had a good shot to try to knock Jean off as the nurse was trying to get resituated, but hesitated. Jean took the time Victoria used to hesitate to deliver one last push that had Victoria sliding right off the edge of the platform.

"Victoria in the water, Pedang scores a point. The score is now 4-5, Lembing still leading by one. Next round."

As Jean got back to her platform, everyone was congratulating her and patting her on the back, though Marcus was noticeably looking a bit concerned. On the Lembing platform, Victoria got a few pats on the back, one especially enthusiastic one from Lucas.

"The next round is Marcus for Pedang taking on Lucas for Lembing. Survivors ready? Go!"

Lucas and Marcus both stood where they were, waiting for the other to make the first move. This was eventually broken by Lucas, who charged at Marcus. Marcus deflected the attack and began battering Lucas with his bag, hitting him in the arms and the head, but not really making an attempt to move him. Lucas, for his part, was taking a majority of the hits while doing a pathetic job of trying to block them. Neither man was making much progress in getting the other off the platform. The performances by the both of them were getting rather odd looks from people on both tribe platforms. Eventually, Marcus got low and tried sweeping Lucas's legs, but Lucas was able to dodge that and give a forceful shove to Marcus, who toppled over easier than Lucas expected. Lucas, caught up in the moment, continued his attack on Marcus, who was making feeble attempts to get up. This soon resulted in the large construction worker hitting the water first yet again.

"Lembing scores yet again, increasing their lead 6-4. They only need one more point to win the challenge."

Never a more forlorn winner of a challenge was there than Lucas as he swam back to the Lembing platform, where he was congratulated by an energized Ahmed and Katrina, a confused Nathan and Donny, and a dumbfounded Amber and Victoria.

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing tribe): So let me get this straight... you ask us to throw the challenge. You get after Nathan for not wanting to throw the challenge. You give me and Amber pats on the back for following through with the plan, but then you don't follow through yourself? I just have one question, and that's: What the hell, man!_

"This next round could be the last, we have Harper for Pedang going against Katrina for Lembing. If Katrina wins the round, Lembing wins their third immunity challenge in a row and is safe from tribal council. Survivors ready?" Matthew asked.

Katrina looked across the platform at Harper and gave her a little air kiss. Harper smiled in response and winked, but then glanced over to her tribe platform, seeing Marcus give a thumbs up. Her smile faltered a bit and she looked down at her bag, sighing.

"GO!"

Katrina rushed forward, knocking Harper off balance, and before the host could even spectate, the challenge was over as Harper was shoved off the platform.

"Katrina knocks Harper off, Lembing wins immunity!"

Katrina raised her bag in victory as Ahmed and Nathan cheered on the Lembing tribe platform, the rest of the tribe either clapping politely or just standing around. On the Pedang platform, Marcus and Sofia were giving their own small applause for the other tribe while Harper helped herself onto the platform, looking distraught. Though her appearance failed to match the bitterness found on Jean or Bone's faces, or the look of disgust on Delilah's face.

As the contestants got back to their respective platforms, Matthew tossed the immunity idol to Lucas, who graciously handed it to Katrina. "Lembing, congratulations. Even with a new tribe, you still haven't lost a single immunity challenge. You're safe for the night. Go ahead and head back to camp."

The Lembing tribe were mostly smiles as they accepted the statue and started their swim back to shore.

"Pedang, a good effort, but it seems that for the fourth time in a row, someone form your tribe will be leaving the game. I've got nothing for you, head back to camp. I'll see you tonight at tribal."

As the Pedang tribe started swimming to shore, there were many mixed feelings.

 _Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang): The plan to throw the challenge worked, Katrina and Ahmed are safe tonight. I don't have to worry about either one of my closest allies going home, and on top of that, unless one of the former Lembing members over here has a hidden immunity idol, there's no way any of us are going home._

 _Harper (Rancher, Pedang): I hate how we lost the challenge, I hate how I helped us lose the challenge, I hate just about everythin' about this entire thing. It just feels awful damn scummy. There aint no pride you can take in somethin' like this, and it seems real unfair to the three on the bottom. I'm gonna regret doin' what I did til the day I die._

 _Delilah (Pharmacist, Pedang): Those lousy assh*les really just threw the challenge. They did it pretty blatantly to, and Marcus's dumb little grin was wide and shining as can be. I'm beyond pissed right now, and if they think they can just vote one of us off after that little stunt without me giving them a piece of my mind, they got another thing coming._

* * *

 _Lembing Evening 12_

As the victorious Lembing tribe returned to their scattered camp, the tribe immediately splintered off in many directions. Three of the former Lembings headed into the woods. Nathan went off into the direction of his favorite fruit collecting spot, and Lucas and Donny went off in a random direction through the trees. Victoria and Amber went down to the beach and sat in the waves, cooling off and relaxing. This left Ahmed and Katrina sitting inside the recently re-roofed shelter, to their own devices. Ahmed looked around at the barren campsite, feeling a mix of disbelief and amusement at the lack of reaction from his tribe, and then looked back to Katrina.

"Well, they sure know how to celebrate a win, don't they?" Ahmed said with a sly smile. This elicited a small chuckle from Katrina.

"It's gonna be so weird, not having to worry about tribal council for once." Katrina said as she looked at the sun resting just above the waves. It was the first time she didn't feel apprehensive about the night's events.

"That's probably the only good thing about getting out of Pedang." Ahmed chimed in. He looked over at Katrina, looking a bit deep in thought. "Hey Kat."

"Yeah?"

"While we're over here, I want to make a promise." Ahmed waited for Katrina to face him. "I promise I will not write your name down while we're over here on the Lembing tribe. It'd be way too easy for those five to pick one of us off, and I'm sure they'd try to talk us into voting for each other. So you have my guarantee, I will not vote for you."

Katrina looked into Ahmed's eyes for a few seconds, blinked, and then went back to looking at the sunset. "Cool."

Ahmed raised an eyebrow, expecting more of a response, but seeing as he was getting none, he was content enough to have thrown out the proposition. After all, he could always give another to someone else at any time.

 _Katrina (Artist, Lembing tribe): Ahmed tried making a deal with me that he wouldn't vote for me while we were on Lembing. I know he was expecting me to make him the same promise, but honestly, I've already given my word out to one person, and I'm already close enough with Sofia and Harper and I guess Marcus. I like Ahmed, but I'm not in the mood to have a network of alliances or whatnot. Ahmed hasn't pissed me off, he's the guy I like the most on this tribe so far, so he probably won't get my vote... but no promises._

As the two sat and reflected in camp, Amber and Victoria were having a discussion of their own, though there's was less about unity so much as the lack thereof.

"I still can't believe Lucas went and won both of his duels. He was the one who made the plan to throw the challenge in the first place!" Victoria complained, washing her hair in the ocean water. Amber sat up more towards the shore, only dipping her legs into the water as she listened to her friend, admiring her long raven hair and nodding along in agreement.

"I mean, you went along with it. I went along with it. Now we look like a couple of chumps. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if those two at camp-" Katrina gestured towards Ahmed and Katrina, who were out of ear shot and didn't seem to be paying attention to them, "thought we were complete bitches right now."

"I doubt they think we're bitches." Amber said calmly, inwardly laughing at getting lumped in as someone who was trying to purposefully throw the challenge.

"No, seriously. They probably saw we were trying to throw the challenge. Meanwhile, good ol' Nathan and Lucas helped them win every round! I knew Nathan was too much a little sh*t to think about throwing it, his damn ego is too big to go along with an idea someone else came up with, but Lucas... What the hell was he thinking!" Victoria exclaimed, feeling immense rage at her not so loved alliance mate. Victoria brushed her hair away from her eyes, and tried re-doing her ponytail.

"Well, and I'm just spit-balling here..." Amber paused, waiting until she figured she had Victoria's attention. "Lucas wanted us to throw the challenge, but then he went and won his rounds. So if we lost, it wouldn't look like it was his fault."

Victoria paused from maintaining her hair, and looked up at Amber, her face displaying the most shocked expression Amber had ever seen.

"You think that mother f***er set us up to look like the bad guys, so when we lose those two would vote for one of us?" Victoria asked.

Amber looked Victoria dead in the eyes. "Yes."

"Wow... unbelievable." Victoria said, dumbfounded as she looked down at the water.

Amber got up and reached up to put her arm around Victoria's shoulders. "You ok?"

Victoria shook her head slightly. "I'm pissed."

Amber stood there, watching Victoria for a while, contemplating what to say next.

 _Amber (Mechanic, Lembing tribe): Lucas really screwed up today not following through with throwing the challenge. Now, either Delilah or Jean is probably gonna go home, which I'm perfectly fine with, and Victoria has basically lost all trust in him, which I'm definitely fine with. Still, though, I don't want to make it too obvious I'm trying to instigate anything, so for now, I better pretend I want Victoria to stay loyal to Lembing._

"Hey, how about we go back and see where Lucas is. We'll get this all cleared out, maybe that wasn't his actual plan, maybe his ego got in the way and he just went and won his duels without really thinking. C'mon." Amber said, taking Victoria's hand and lightly pulling her to the beach. Victoria sighed and followed.

Meanwhile, in the trees, Nathan was gathering fruits with a much more positive expression adorning his face than the last time he'd been out gathering.

 _Nathan (Model, Lembing tribe): Honestly, I think the loss and Isa goin really put me in a bad place, man, but after the win, I dunno... I feel like I can bounce back. I gotta make the most of this. So I went to get some food to take back to camp, and then I noticed Lucas and Donny out in the woods._

Donny and Lucas were in the middle of a discussion as Nathan started to walk towards them.

"Do you think either of them would have the idol?" Donny asked, sounding skeptical.

"Well, who knows. I mean... oh, hey Nathan." Lucas said, seeing the young man walk up out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey guys, I got some papayas, either of you care for one?" Nathan offered, holding out a papaya to each of them. Donny nodded and took one, thanking Nathan. Lucas shook his head.

"So..." Nathan started. "What changed the plan on throwing the challenge?"

Before Lucas could reply, another voice came from the edge of the trees.

"Yeah, I'd also like to know what the hell happened there." Victoria chimed in, storming up to the three with Amber trailing behind.

"Look," Lucas threw up his hands, "I didn't expect to be fighting Bones on my first round, and I tried throwing it to him but I didn't want to be too obvious."

"Right, and I'm sure Marcus was a real pushover." Victoria snapped.

"Honestly, he kind of was." Nathan said, trying to defend Lucas a bit. "Didn't even feel like the dude was trying, and I figured he was probably the only guy that woulda gave me a good fight, but nah. I don't think it's Lucas's fault he won those rounds."

"I'm betting my bottom dollar they were trying to throw it." Lucas said, trying to ride off of what Nathan said. "Or Marcus was, at the very least."

"It did seem like that cowgirl chick went down pretty quick on the final round." Donny said, spying Amber out of the corner of his eye, staying silent as she usually did.

"So the only reason we didn't lose is because the other tribe was trying to lose harder than us?" Victoria asked, still a bit skeptical sounding.

"I think so, yeah." Donny said, happy that Victoria seemed to be calming down slightly.

"Now they're gonna vote out one of our guys." Nathan said dejectedly. "Guys I'm sorry I didn't go for the plan to throw the challenge. If I knew they were gonna... man, I f'ed up."

"It's all good buddy." Donny said, putting his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Next immunity challenge we'll... we'll see how we're feeling there, I guess."

 _Victoria (Student, Lembing tribe): I don't believe Lucas or Donny at all, but it does strike me as weird that Nathan was trying to back them up. The fact that all three were talking when we got to them also seems fishy. If it was just a former Lembing group discussion, they would've made sure we were there, but instead we walk up on them talking. If those three have some sort of alliance, and they're playing us, I will burn that shelter that they never manage to fix to the ground._

"Great plan." Amber snarked. The five of them dispersed, most of them going back to camp. However, Lucas and Nathan stayed back for a brief second.

"Hey, uh... Nate?" Lucas said, figuring they were out of earshot of the others.

"Nathan." The model corrected. "Yeah?"

"Oh, sorry. Uh, I just wanted to say thanks for having my back on that." Lucas said, legitimately grateful for Nathan's opinion in the discussion.

"No problem, man. Thanks for being upfront with me about the plan earlier today, and thanks for not flipping out on me. I'll totally be down for whatever next time around." Nathan said, giving the lawyer a thumbs-up before following the others.

 _Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): I really do appreciate Nathan having my back. He can be a bit of a hot head some days, but he seems like the kind of guy who would be loyal to the right person, and I can respect that. More importantly, I can take advantage of that._

* * *

 _Pedang Evening 12_

As the Lembing tribe was stewing over its partially unwanted victory, the Pedang tribe was oddly quiet for being the tribe that was going to tribal council. When the seven returned to camp, a majority of them went down to the beach to strategize. Only two remained in camp, inside the shelter. Delilah laid back, keeping her head out of the sun as she took a swig out of her canteen. Jean sat next to her, getting some water to pour over her wound.

"They threw the challenge." Delilah said bitterly.

"Yep." Jean replied.

"Do you think they told Bones?" Delilah asked.

Jean looked over to where the five were, glaring at the history professor as he seemed to be laughing along with something Marcus said. Ever since they got to the Pedang camp, the man had seemed to turn into a completely different person. While she didn't know whether or not Bones actually was from New York, she could easily tell that he had donned a fake accent. How Marcus couldn't see through it, she didn't know.

"Probably." Jean finally answered.

"Do you think they told Otis?"

Jean stopped to consider that one. She remembered how, despite Otis losing his round, he actually was the only man who looked the closest to winning from Pedang.

"I don't know." Jean said. When she looked away from the group, she noticed Delilah had some tears falling from her eyes. "Del, you alright, hun? Your head hurting worse?"

"I'm just so f***ing done, Jean. They're gonna vote one of us off and we can't even do anything."

Jean took a heavy breath as she tried comforting Delilah. "I know, hun. I know."

"That's just... That's messed up! They already got us with numbers..." Delilah paused to wipe her eyes. Jean looked down at her ally with a little pity.

"It'll be alright. We just have to think of a way out of this." Jean said.

"I've been trying. I tried talking to Otis, but the guy is a brick wall! I can't get anything out of him." Delilah ranted, exasperated. "Haven't you been trying to work on Sofia?"

"Yeah, but she at least gave it to me straight that she's not breaking rank." Jean glanced from Sofia to Marcus and Harper, Marcus's arm wrapped around Harper like it usually was. "I wouldn't even bother asking Marcus or Harper. God knows those two were probably running things back on old Pedang."

"Look, I know how you feel right now, but we have to keep a level head. Now, let's wait for them to start separating and see if we can work our magic." Jean said, eyeing the group down by the beach.

Meanwhile, by the shores of the Pedang camp, Marcus was giving out directions for the night.

"Alright, so Harper, Sofia, and I will vote Delilah. Bones, you can Otis are voting for Jean. We're all good on that?" Marcus asked.

The group all nodded their general agreements. They all meandered back to the camp area, save for Bones and Marcus.

"So you're sure one of them has the idol?" Marcus asked again.

"Hell yeah." Bones said, continuing his accent. "Lucas went and got it da first time around, and there's a good bet he went and gave it tah either Jean or Delilah."

"Alright. I'm glad you're willing to help us with this." Marcus said, appreciative of the intel and the extra vote. Marcus knew it was foolish to put so much faith in Bones, so he made sure to have him and Otis be the two people voting for Jean. If Bones or Otis defected, it would mean a 3-3-1 vote and Marcus would probably kiss his majority status goodbye. He didn't expect both Otis and Bones to flip and join Jean and Delilah, though.

 _Marcus (Construction worker, Pedang): I just need to make sure I've got all of my people united. Sofia and Harper are for sure in with me. I'm a little more cautious of Otis, but it sounds like he hasn't been too fond of the new Lembing people._

As the duo walked back to camp, Bones took note of the glare he received from Delilah, who was sitting up in the shelter. Jean gave him a curt nod, but he also thought he felt some venom from her look as well.

 _Bones (History Professor, Pedang): It's rather amusing seeing my would be destroyers now glare with a mixture of anger and envy at my position. It is in no way my fault that they didn't follow suit in making themselves more appealing to the clear majority. So long as I feel safe with the Pedang folk, I'll certainly write down either one of their names with a smile on my face._

As Bones rested easily in his newfound power position, Sofia sat herself by Jean and Delilah, checking over at Delilah.

"Your wound healing?" Sofia asked.

"Yeah." Delilah muttered. Sofia gave a small smile, glad to hear the news.

Jean looked around the camp, and then decided to try and make her last-minute attempt.

"Sofia, can I talk with you privately?" Jean requested, getting up from the shelter. Delilah looked to Jean, putting her hands on the shelter to get up as well, but Jean shook her head. Delilah sat back down. Sofia followed Jean into the woods.

 _Jean (Nurse, Pedang tribe): I want to try to talk to Sofia, just because she may well be the closest thing we have to breaking the old Pedangs. She doesn't seem near so close as Harper and Marcus do, and she's much more responsive than Otis._

"What were you wanting to talk about?" Sofia asked.

"Whose idea was it to throw the challenge?" Jean asked. Sofia's eyes widened for a second, but she quickly resumed a calm demeanor.

"What makes you think we were trying to throw the challenge?" Sofia questioned.

"We're not idiots." Jean replied with a furrowed brow. Sofia's mouth straightened a bit at the response. There was an awkward silence as the two women maintained eye contact, but it was broken by Sofia.

"We decided as a group."

"Who all was in on it?"

Sofia closed her eyes as she debated whether or not to tell the truth. Jean gave a small sigh.

"I'd just like to know before I possibly get voted off."

"Marcus, Harper, and I were the only ones." Sofia said. "Also, you're not getting the votes."

"Who is?" Jean pushed.

"Sorry, that information isn't up for sale." Sofia said with a sad smile. Jean decided to go ahead and ask the one question she really needed an answer for.

"Would you consider voting for Marcus with Delilah and I tonight?"

Sofia cocked an eyebrow at the name drop, but slowly shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but that isn't happening. I'm sure you have a schpeel prepared as to what kind of advantages it might give me, but I don't think there's much you could do or say to actually get me to believe in any of them."

Jean folded her arms. "Will you allow me to at least make my case?"

Sofia put her hands on her hips. "I'm telling you that whatever your case is, it'll be falling on deaf ears."

There was a small silence as the two women looked at each other, but it was broken as Jean sighed and hung her head slightly. "Alright."

Sofia felt awful about the situation she had put both Jean and Delilah in, but she knew that this was what needed to happen if she and her fellow Pedangs wanted a chance in this game. She felt like trying to apologize to Jean, but Jean quietly walked back to the shelter.

 _Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang tribe): It's not that I wouldn't want to work with either of them in the future, it's just that tribal lines are definitely going to be a factor down the line, and I don't want to help them make my numbers smaller. Their tribe tried throwing it so they could get rid of either Ahmed or Katrina, so it's fair game that we do the same to them. Sure, we look like assh*les while doing it, but that's just how it has to be sometimes._

As the tribe got ready to make the trip for the night, Otis walked over to Harper, who was talking casually with Sofia by the fire.

"Harper, can I talk to you?" Otis asked, and started turning to walk away. Harper exchanged a look with Sofia before following their usually silent ally.

 _Otis (Postal Worker, Pedang tribe): There's been one thing on my mind since we switched tribes, and I want to get to the bottom of it now._

"What's goin' on, Otis?" Harper inquired after Otis had led them down the beach.

"Before the swap, was the plan to boot Sofia?" Otis asked bluntly. Harper blinked a few times, not sure where he had gotten that idea from.

"I... what?"

"Before the swap, was the plan for us to vote out Sofia?" Otis asked again. He showed no emotion as he asked the question. Harper's brows furrowed as she tried hurriedly to think of what answer he would like to hear.

"Uh, I ain't sure. Was that what you were wantin' tah do?" Harper asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"It was never the plan to vote off Sofia, was it?" Otis asked, though the way he phrased it made it seem much more like a statement than a question.

"Well I don't rightly know-" Harper was about to defend herself, but then she noticed that some of the cameramen were waving the pair over as the rest of the tribe had their torches ready to go to tribal council. She looked back to Otis but saw him already making the trip back up the beach towards the group. Harper rubbed her forehead in frustration before following. As the tribe got finished getting their torches ready to make the trek, a light drizzle of rain began to sprinkle on them.

 _Tribal Council_

As the seven members of the Pedang tribe marched into tribal council, the light sprinkling had turned into a sizeable rain that left each member drenched as they took their seats. Matthew, in his usual spot in front of the fire and in front of the tribe, also looked drenched from head to toe, but he was smiling much more than any of the Pedang members that night.

"Pedang, welcome back once again to tribal council. To some of you, it's been a while since you've been back here, to others, it was just the other night. Jean, I imagine you're not quite so thrilled to be seeing me again, so soon."

Jean gave a slight smile at the statement, though her she looked down with eyes that were at odds with the expression of her mouth. She looked up at Matthew when she gave her response. "It's what happens in this game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, that's just the way it is."

"Were you expecting what other things the game might throw at you, say, a tribe swap?" Matthew asked, setting up what would most likely be the theme for the questions at the night's tribal council.

"I think it's safe to say nobody was expecting this to happen. Especially not after what would've been a double tribal council. So thanks for that." Jean said, smiling with a bit of mock venom in her voice. Matthew nodded, and switched his attention to Sofia.

"Sofia, you, Marcus, Harper, and Otis have technically never won an immunity challenge-" Matthew started.

"Wow thanks." Sofia said, rolling her eyes. Matthew paused to chuckled a bit before continuing.

"Has that damped morale that you've never gotten to escape losing someone for the first twelve days?" Matthew finished, deciding to twist the knife a little more.

"Well when you put it like that, it just sounds lovely." Sofia said, brushing her hair out of her face while some of her tribemates laughed at how annoyed she was getting. "Yeah, losing a lot sucks, and coming back here after two immunity losses and a medical evacuation isn't exactly my cup of tea."

"Delilah, what are your thoughts on the how this tribe will be moving forward? Will old tribal lines be limiting who you can work with, or is this a brand new game?"

"I think there's only one person who doesn't care about old tribal lines, and he's the one who jumped ship over to the Pedangs." Delilah said, motioning with her hand to Bones, who was sitting two stumps away. A few of the tribe raised their eyebrows at the accusation, though Bones merely shrugged.

"Bones, you got singled out there. Are you not comfortable working with the old Lembing members of the tribe?" Matthew asked.

"I'm comfortable enough workin' with anyone who wants to work with me." Bones said, still trying to keep a hint of an accent in his voice. Delilah scowled while Jean just rolled her eyes. Marcus, meanwhile, grinned and put an arm around Bones shoulder. "The folks I'm workin' with now have been honest with me, so I'll stick wih em."

"Marcus, you seem pretty calm looking for someone who didn't help much at the challenge today." Matthew accused. Marcus's grin only widened as he thought of an answer.

"Well, I lucked out in having a majority on my tribe. I think I don't have much to worry about right now." Marcus said.

"Even though you were a major part in losing the challenge for your tribe?" Matthew asked. Before he could respond, Delilah piped up.

"He threw the challenge."

Matthew raised his eyebrows at the accusation. Otis and Bones each seemed mildly susprised as well, their eyes darting between Delilah and Marcus. Harper buried her face in her hands. Sofia stared into the fire, not wanting to be part of the conversation. Jean and Delilah looked over at Marcus, who kept on smiling and looked relaxed.

"Marcus?" Matthew asked after a brief silence. "Care to defend yourself?"

Marcus scrunched up his face for a moment before going back to his wide toothy grin. "She's right."

Bones did a double take at the response, while Otis glowered as he looked into the fire.

"You admit to throwing the challenge?" Matthew asked, for clarification's sake.

"Yup. I made a plan with my alliance before the challenge began, and now it's done." Marcus said nonchalantly.

"With the intention to vote out, I'm guessing, either Delilah or Jean, based on these reactions I'm seeing." Matthew said, which Marcus nodded to in response. Jean shook her head slowly as she looked away from Marcus, but Delilah refused to take her glare away. Harper sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Harper, you seem rather agitated right now." Matthew noted.

"I mean, he came to us askin' us to throw the challenge. I didn't wanna do it, but if'n we lost, Katrina or Ahmed is goin' from their tribe, guarenteed." Harper said, sounding a bit exasperated. "It's a downright dumb thing to do in my mind, to throw a challenge, but at the time, I couldn't see no other way to go about tryin' to help out mah friends on the other side."

"Just because you thought it was a dumb move doesn't make you doing it any less dumb." Delilah snapped at Harper, taking her gaze away from Marcus to instead glare at the rancher. Harper made no reply, but she did narrow her eyes at Delilah. Matthew decided to give his attention to Otis, who had been very quiet throughout the tribal.

"Otis, what is going to dictate your vote tonight?" He asked, expecting a vague answer or a small little tid-bit from the postal worker.

"I'm voting for Marcus." Otis said bluntly, looking directly at Matthew as he said it. The host was a bit taken aback by the answer, as was the rest of the tribe, who were all now focusing on the small old man sitting in the center of the tribe. For the first time that night, Delilah had stopped glaring and Marcus had stopped grinning.

"Oh?" Matthew said, hoping Otis would elaborate.

"Yes." Otis said, not giving the host any more information.

The rest of the tribe was at a loss for words momentarily, but that was quickly dismissed.

"Really?" Marcus asked, looking over at Otis. Otis glanced over at the construction worker and nodded. "Yes sir."

Sofia looked over from the end of the stumps where she was sitting and looked to Harper, who was sitting near the other side. She mouthed words resembling 'What the vuck?' Jean and Delilah exchanged excited, albeit confused looks with each other, and Bones looked over at Otis intently, as if trying to study his face.

"Otis, can I ask why the vote for Marcus?" Matthew asked.

"He threw a challenge, he told me the vote was for Sofia when it wasn't-" Otis paused while Sofia gave a wide eyed glace to an incredibly unhappy Marcus, "and his behavior at this tribal council has been without class. Those three reasons are why I'm choosing to vote Marcus. At this point, I don't think I'll be swayed away."

"Otis, I'm sorry we threw the challenge and didn't tell you." Sofia said, trying to diffuse the situation. "We should have, but we were still uncertain whether or not we actually were going to do it all the way up until the actual challenge."

"Looked pretty well coordinated from where I was sitting." Jean said casually. Nobody seemed to notice just how much she was enjoying the direction this tribal had taken.

"We weren't tryin' to keep secrets from ya, Otis, we were just-" Harper started to say before she got interrupted.

"Keeping secrets from you." Delilah finished with a cheeky grin. Much like Jean, she was taking great joy in the process of the tribal council. Harper wrinkled her nose at hearing Delilah's comment.

"Otis, we're a solid team of four." Marcus said with some exasperation. He had hoped that message would get through to Otis, though the main person to really react to the statement was Bones, who ever so slightly tilted his head and smiled slightly. "It wouldn't be good strategically to break that."

"I don't care about strategy. Personally, I don't like what you're doing all that much, you lied to me, and you cost us the challenge. So I'm voting for you tonight." Otis said matter-of-factly. Marcus threw up his hands, Harper ran her hands through her hair, and Sofia just rested her head on hers.

Matthew decided to try to get a hold of the situation. "In this tribal alone, we've gone from being sure one of Delilah or Jean is going home, to pointing fingers at Bones, to pointing fingers at Marcus, and also we've heard mention of Sofia getting targeted. This has certainly been an eventful evening. Before we vote, is there anything anyone would like to say? Anybody still have their votes up in the air at this point?"

For a while, nobody made any movement or any indication that they'd like to speak. Just before Matthew was going to call for the votes to be made, Bones cleared his throat.

"I do believe I should ask one question to Marcus." Bones said, dropping any hint of an accent. Marcus gave the professor an odd look, but nodded in his direction. Bones continued. "When did you tell Otis there was a plan to vote Sofia out?" Marcus ribbed the back of his neck while he felt Sofia staring at him from the other side of the stumps.

"Right after Julio went." Marcus said.

"Alright. In that case, I've deliberated enough on this. I'm prepared to cast my vote." Bones said, his attention turning to Matthew. The host nodded.

"Alright, time to vote everyone. Jean, you're up first."

Jean smiled to herself as she got up and made her way down to the urn to vote. She took the pen and wrote in clear and nice handwriting.

 **Marcus**

"For all that brawn, you've proven to not have that much brain. Way to lose an ally, hope you lose one more."

Harper got up and cast her vote.

Delilah got up and cast her vote.

Otis got up and cast his vote.

 **Marcus**

"I've given my reasons for this vote tonight."

Marcus got up and cast his vote.

 **Delilah**

"I think I might have just screwed myself out of a million dollars... What the hell was this tribal even?"

Sofia got up to cast her vote, but she waited at the urn for a little while longer before writing a name down.

Finally, Bones went up and cast his vote.

 **?**

"I've had the privilege to know you for a short amount of time, and from all the time we've talked, I can say this much: I'm not impressed."

Bones went back to his seat, and Matthew went back to collect the urn. He returned to his spot.

"If anyone has a hidden immunity idol and they want to play it, now would be the time to do so."

Nobody made any motion, and so Matthew continued.

"Once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

He removed the top of the urn and pulled out the first parchment.

"First vote, Delilah."

Delilah scowled at seeing her name come up. Harper found herself enjoying the fact that she wiped the smile off of Delilah.

"Second vote, Marcus."

The big man simply nodded his head.

"Third vote, Marcus."

"Fourth vote, Marcus. That's three votes Marcus, one vote Delilah."

Harper gave a concerned look over to Sofia, who was staring at the fire.

"Fifth vote, Delilah, that's three votes Marcus, two votes Delilah, two votes left."

Delilah's eyes flickered toward Bones for a quick second, but she still looked relatively calm despite the scowl that stayed on her face. Marcus, meanwhile, looked as though his soul had left his body. His eyes were fixated on the urn, and his hands were clutching his knees tightly.

"Sixth vote and fifth person voted out of Survivor Maldives, Marcus. Marcus, please grab your torch."

Marcus closed his eyes as he grimaced and sank down in his seat. Harper cast a shocked gaze at the rest of her tribemates. Sofia shook her head sadly at the results. Bones twiddled and end of his moustache. Jean and Delilah were in the midst of hugging each other. Otis merely sat still, quietly enjoying being at a tribal council where he received no votes. Finally, after the moment of reactionary joy, grief, shock, and apathy, Marcus collected himself enough to stand up. He gave a hug to Harper, and received one from Sofia, who whispered a quick "I'm sorry." to him. Bones extended his hand, which Marcus looked at with mild amusement before shaking it awkwardly. He grabbed his torch and brought it to Matthew.

"Marcus, the tribe has spoken." Matthew said, and with little flair or fanfare, he snuffed Marcus's torch. Marcus, despite himself, managed to find his grin once more as he turned around to address his tribe.

"Have fun guys, I'll be rooting for most of you... and Otis."

Marcus waited until Otis deigned to meet his eyes.

"Have fun tryna make merge. If you get that far, I'll buy you a drink." Marcus said snidely.

"Don't you have somewhere to be walking?" Otis responded.

Marcus laughed and bid farewell to his tribe with a wave. Matthew waited until he was gone before he gave his parting words.

"This tribal council was hectic, but it just produced one of the most straightforward votes this season, so hopefully your tribe will be able to learn from it and become more united. Pack your stuff, head back to camp."

The tribe departed.

* * *

 _Next time on... Survivor_

 _Harper feels betrayed and alone._

 _"It's one thing to get blindsided by an ally, it's a whole 'nother thing to be blindsided by the whole tribe."_

 _On Lembing, a new division is forming along gender lines._

 _"They're getting kind of annoying with their little boy's club."_

 _"Oh boy, goin' back to estrogen city."_

 _And an explosive argument at one camp could make or break some players' games._

 _"You're rude, you're bossy, you're lazy-"_

 _"You're just pouting because you're gonna get voted off!"_

Votes:

For Delilah: Marcus, Harper

For Marcus, Delilah, Jean, Bones, Otis, Sofia

Marcus's final words: Well this was a wild way to end my run on Survivor. Honestly, I was hoping I could've gone way farther. Still, I wish harper luck, because I'm pretty sure she's the one person who didn't vote for me. As for the rest, well, I'll tip my hat to you and say good job, and I wish you slightly less luck.

* * *

A/N: Two months late, but here it is. I'd like to thank you for reading, encourage a review or favorite if you enjoy what you've read, and feel free to follow to keep updated, this is certainly going to be an odd updating schedule.


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